Class Ci, 

Book. 
Goppght^l" 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 



HARPER^S A-B-C SERIES 

A-B-G OF VEGETABLE GARDENING. 
By Eben E. Rexford 

A-B-C OF CORRECT SPEECH. 
By Florence Howe Hall 

A-B-C OF ARCHITECTURE. By Frank E. Wallis 

A-B-C OF HOUSEKEEPING. 

By Christine Terhune Herrick 

A-B-C OF ELECTRICITY. 

By William H. AIeadowcroft 

A-B-C OF GARDENING. By Eben E. Rexford 
A-B-C OF GOOD FORM. By Anne Seymoub 
16ino, Cloth 



HARPER & BROTHERS. NEW YORK 




BY 

EBEN E. ^lEXFORD 



HARPER BROTHERS PUBLISHERS 
NEW YORK LONDON 



A-B-C OF Vege-xAble Gardening 



Copyright, 1916, by Harper & Brothers 
Printed in the United States of America 
Published February, 1916 

FEB 21 1916 

©JI.A4 1.8928 



CONTENTS 



CHAP. PAGE 

Foreword 1 

I. Getting the Garden Ready 8 

II. Laying Out the Garden 13 

III. Planting the Garden 17 

IV. Seeds that Give Best Results .... 20 

V. Early Garden Work 23 

VI. Vegetable Plants in the House ... 27 * 

VII. Standard Varieties of Vegetables . . 33 

VIII. Small Fruits and Their Culture ... 56 

IX. Hotbeds and Cold-fraaies 68 

X. Small Gardens 76 

XI. Left-overs 81 



XII. Health in the Garden. A Chapter Ex- 
pressly for Women Readers . . . Ill 



A-B-C OF 
VEGETABLE GARDENING 



A B C OF 
VEGETABLE GARDENING 

FOREWORD 

NOT everybody has a garden. Some deny 
themselves the pleasure and the profit of 
one because they have never had any ex- 
perience in gardening, and have somehow 
got the impression that special training is 
necessary to make a success of the under- 
taking. Here is where they make a mistake. 
There is no special ^ ^ knack about it. Any 
one who owns a bit of land, and has some time 
that can be given to garden-work, and an in- 
clination to do so, can make a gardener of 
himself in a season — and a successful one, 
too — if he allows himself to be governed by 
the advice of some one who has had some ex- 
perience along this line. After the first sea- 

1 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



son he will not be likely to ask or need advice, 
for the practical knowledge which comes with 
one season's work among vegetables will not 
only be sufficient to enable him to go on with 
his gardening operations on his own respon- 
sibility, but it will have made him so en- 
thusiastic over them that he will be eager to 
enlarge his knowledge of ^'the green things 
growing/' and in doing this he will find a 
pleasure that will make him wonder how he 
ever came to consider gardening something 
to dread. 

Others, who have but a small piece of land, 
may think it not worth w^hile to attempt to 
grow vegetables on it. They labor under the 
impression that a garden, in order to prove 
a success, requires more land than is at their 
disposal. Here is where they make a mistake. 
Of course one cannot grow a large quantity 
of vegetables on a small piece of ground, but 
the one who undertakes to make the most of 
a small piece will be surprised at the amount 
that can be grown on it. In a garden that 
is not more than twenty-five feet square a 
friend of mine grows all the summer vege- 
tables required by his family of four persons. 
This calls for what the scientific people call 
^ intensive gardening,'' and makes it nec- 
essary to plant and plan for a succession of 

2 



FOREWORD 



vegetables: but that twenty-five feet square 
of ground enables him to get a good share of 
the summer living of his family. 

xAjQother notion is, that in order to have a 
good garden a large am^ount of time and labor 
must be expended on it. Not so. A very 
small amount of systematized labor will be 
demanded by even a good-sized garden, if it 
is plamied in such a manner that labor-sav- 
ing tools can be used in its cultivation. If 
we look back to the gardening days of fifty 
or even twenty-five years ago, when every- 
thing was done at the hardest and the hand 
had to do a good share of the work that we 
now do with helpful implements, it is not to be 
wondered at that the old-time care of a garden 
discourages many from undertaking to have 
one. Happily those daj^s are over, and with 
the gardening facilities of the present it is 
an easy matter to accomplish more in an 
hour than could be done then in a day. There 
is really no drudgery in gardening as it is 
done to-day. On the contrary, there is posi- 
tive pleasure in the operation of the ma- 
chinery which inventive genius has furnished 
for the up-to-date gardener^s use. 

Those who have never had a garden of their 
own, but have bought vegetables in the or- 
dinary market, are not in a position to un- 

3 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



derstand the wide difference between the 
article we buy and the one which is taken 
directly from the ground and eaten at once. 
\\niile it is possible to keep most vegetables 
looking fresh for a considerable time by the 
use of water and ice, it is not possible to 
make them retain that dehcacy of flavor 
known only to those whose vegetables go 
straight from the garden to the kitchen. If 
you want any vegetable at its best you must 
grovv^ it in your own garden. 

The general impression seems to be that 
gardening is essentially man's work, and that 
women and children are not equal to it. This 
is another mistake that will rapidly be done 
away with, for the woman of to-day is no 
longer a housed-up woman. She is rapidly 
learning the value of fresh air, and the tonic 
of outdoor life is fast taking the place of the 
doctor's prescriptions. The writer knov\'s of 
many women who have found work in the 
garden not only a healthful occupation, but 
one so delightful that they look forward to 
spring with most pleasurable anticipations, 
and long for the time to come vvhen they can 
get to work out of doors. ^\Tien we have 
tried both we learn that work in the vege- 
table-garden is no harder than that in the 

flower-garden, and that neither demands 

4 



FOREWORD 



more strength or time than the average 
woman is able to give it if she makes use 
of labor-saving tools. What is true of the 
woman is equally true of the children. A 
child ten years of age can do a good deal of 
the work that a good-sized garden calls for. 

I would not be understood as advocating 
the giving up of garden-work to women and 
children. I would not deny man the pleasure 
of sharing in it. But I would urge the im- 
portance of interesting women and children 
in it, and of encouraging them to take part 
in it from the viewpoint of health. Benefit 
in other respects will become so apparent, 
after a little, that further encouragement w^ill 
not be necessary. Most women who have 
some leisure — especially if they are of the 
housewife class — will be so pleased with the 
results of gardening that they will be glad 
to supplement the labors of the man of the 
family by what they can accomplish in it, if 
he is employed in work that will not allow 
him to devote much time to the garden. And 
they will find that the boys of the family — 
and the girls as well — can be made to take 
an active part in the good work with but 
little encouragement from their elders. It 
is natural for both boys and girls to dig in the 

soil, and it is well to encourage them to dig 

5 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



to some purpose. It is natural work, and 
healthy work, and work that will do more to 
keep the average child out of mischief than 
any other influence that can be brought to 
bear on it. But I would not allow the child 
to get the impression that I gave it garden- 
w^ork to do as a mischief -preventative. That 
would spoil everything. Aim to interest the 
boys and girls in the mysterious processes of 
nature. Encourage them to plan and exe- 
cute as much of the work as can safely be 
trusted to them. In a short time you will 
find that most of them are equal to all the 
requirements of the ordinary garden. 

I have often been told by those who have 
had years of experience in garden-work that 
at least half one's living for half the year 
can be obtained from the garden, even if it 
happens to be a small one, and my own ex- 
perience bears out the truth of this state- 
ment. If we grow our own vegetables we 
are quite sure to have a greater variety to 
add to the daily bill of fare than would be 
the case if we were to buy them. We have 
them when we want them without making 
a trip to the market for them, or depending 
on the uncertainties of telephone orders 
which grocers so frequently fill by sending 

vegetables of a quality that would not satisfy 

6 



FOREWORD 



us if we gave them personal inspection be- 
fore purchasing. The entire family will be 
delighted with the frequent changes that can 
be made in the bill of fare, and no one more 
so than the housewife who often finds it a 
difficult matter to plan for a variety of food 
when the family income does not warrant 
a liberal outlay. 

No owner of a bit of ground that can be 
made into a garden can afford to let it re- 
main unused. If he does so he does it in dis- 
regard of the economy which most of us are 
obliged to consider and practise in these 
days of high prices and the increasing cost 
of daily living. 

Have a garden if you can. 

2 



I 



GETTING THE GARDEN READY 
HE amateur gardener will almost in- 



A variably be in too great a hurry to begin 
gardening operations in the spring. But a 
few warm days are not sufficient to put the 
ground in proper condition for seeding, or 
even for plowing and spading. The frost 
must be allowed to get out of it, and after 
that an opportunity must be given for sur- 
plus water from melting snows and spring 
rains to drain away before work can be done 
to any advantage. As a general thing not 
much can be done in gardening at the North 
before the first of May. It is an old saying 
that haste makes waste/' and the gardener 
who is in too great a hurry often learns the 
truth which underlies the saying by the 
failure to germinate of the seed he puts into 
the ground very early in the season. 

Another old saying that should be kept in 
mind is that '^one swallow does not make a 




8 



GETTING THE GARDEN READY 



summer.'^ Read ^'warm day'' for swallow'' 
and you will get the force of the statement. 
It is not advisable to do much at gardening 
until you are reasonably sure that warm 
weather has come to stay. Even if early- 
planted seed comes up, spells of cold weather, 
and often of frost, which we are likely to 
have at the North until about the first of 
May, will have such a debilitating effect on 
comparatively hardy plants that those grown 
from later sowings, when all conditions are 
favorable, will come to maturity ahead of 
them. Therefore it will be seen that it is 
poor policy to be in too great a hurry, and 
good policy to wait for what the farmer 
calls growing weather" before doing much 
work in the garden. 

If very early vegetables are wanted it will 
be necessary to start them in the hotbed. 
In another chapter I will give some direc- 
tions for the making and management of 
this very important adjunct of gardening. 

The first thing to do in making a garden 
is to plow or spade it. Plowing is not ad- 
missible on small grounds, but where there 
is room enough to allow a team and plow to 
operate I would advise it in preference to 
spading, because it will save a good deal of 

hard work, and greatly expedite matters. 

9 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDEXIXG 



Before plowing some system of manuring 
should be decided on, as Vviiatever fertilizer 
is used should be worked well into the soil, 
and this the plow can do most effectively. 
Barn-yard manure, if old and well rotted, is 
better than anything else I have any knowl- 
edge of for all kinds of vegetables, but un- 
fortunately it is seldom obtainable hv those 
who- do not live in the country. There are 
many commercial fertilizers on the market, 
but not all kinds of them are adapted to all 
kinds of soil. In order to secure the best 
results it is advisable that the amateur gar- 
dener should consult some dealer in these 
fertilizers in his immediate vicinity, or some 
one who has had personal experience in their 
use, with a view to making sure that he is 
getting just the kind best adapted to the soil 
in his garden. It is absolutely necessarj^ that 
he should do this, in fact, for if he bu3^s at 
random he runs the risk of getting something 
that will fail to answer his purpose. 

While it is alwaj^s advisable to apph^ 
whatever fertilizer is used before plowing, 
commercial fertilizers can be applied later 
with good effect; but it will be necessary to 
apply them in such a manner that they do 
not come directly into contact with the seed, 
as many of them are so strong that they kill it. 

10 



GETTING THE GARDEN READY 



Plow the garden deeply, for by so doing 
you bring to the surface a stratum of soil 
in which there is more latent fertility than 
in that close to the surface. 

After plowing, allow the soil to remain as 
thrown up from the furrow for two or three 
days. Sunshine and warm air will have a 
disintegrating effect on it, which will make it 
easy for you to reduce it under the applica- 
tion of hoe and iron rake to that mellow con- 
dition so necessary to the welfare of the 
plants you propose to grow. It should be 
worked over and over until not a lump is 
left in it. You cannot expect to grow good 
vegetables in a soil that has not been well 
pulverized before seed is planted. Large 
grounds, or those of a size that admit of the 
use of horses, can be speedily mellowed with 
the harrow, which should be run over the 
ground from all directions until it is thoroughly 
pulverized. In the small garden the rake and 
hoe will have to take the place of the harrow. 

Small pieces of ground should be spaded. 
Let the soil remain as thrown up by the spade 
for two or thi^ee days before attempting to 
work it. 

I have been told by some amateur garden- 
ers that they did not use much manure be- 
cause trees and shrubs that grew in close 

11 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



proximity to their gardens were so thrifty 
without manuring that they felt confident 
that the soil must be quite rich enough for 
vegetables without resorting to the use of 
any fertilizer. These persons lacked the ex- 
perience which would have enabled them to 
understand the wide difference between tree 
and vegetable growth. A tree or a bush 
sends its roots deeply and widely into the 
soil, and applies to its uses food that the 
vegetable cannot send its roots in search of. 
The roots of most garden plants do not ex- 
tend far in any direction, nor go very deep; 
therefore food must be given directly to them 
if we would secure the best possible result. 
There are very few gardens in which the 
natural soil has a sufficient amount of nutri- 
ment to produce the effect we aim at without 
the addition of some kind of plant-food. 

A rich soil is absolutely necessary in order 
to hasten development. Unless a vegetable 
makes a quick growth it is pretty sure to be 
lacking in tenderness and flavor. Of course 
it is possible to apply a greater amount than 
a plant can make use of, thus forcing an un- 
healthy growth, but this is not likely to hap- 
pen if we consult the wise old gardener who 
knows his garden and the plants he grows in 

it as a mechanic knows the machine he uses, 

12 



II 



LAYING OUT THE GARDEN 
HERE will be little 'laying oat'' to do 



will be to make use of every available bit of 
soil; the beds will be narrow^ and the paths 
between them will be just wide enough to 
walk in, and these will be the only portions 
of the ground in which something is not 
grown. Not much chance for planning, you 
see. 

In the larger garden it will be not only 
possible, but advisable, to do considerable 
planning. 

If a garden-cultivator is used — and this 
should be done whenever possible — plan for 
rows that will enable you to run it the en- 
tire length of the garden without turning. 
Beds are no longer in favor with gardeners 
who aim to reduce the work to be done to the 
minimum, for in them the cultivator cannot 
be used to advantage, and weeding cannot 




Here the chief aim 



13 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENIXG 



be done vvith the facility which characterizes 
row-planting, nor can the hoe be used as ef- 
fectively. There is really no argument that 
can be advanced in favor of the old bedding 
system for gardens in which we propose to 
use labor-saving implements. 

If possible^ have the rows run north and 
south. This enables the sun to get at the 
ground lengthwise of the rows, and between 
thenij which it could not do if they ran east 
and west, as the plants in them would shade 
all the ground except that in the first and 
most southerly row. It is not enough that 
the sun should get at the tops of the plants. 
The soil needs its vivifying effect. 

Plant with regard to the height and habit 
of the vegetables you propose to grow. Give 
corn a place at the side of the garden. Then 
peas w^hich grow tall enough to require bush- 
ing, and then beans, working down tinough 
potatoes, tomatoes, and beets and other low- 
growing kinds to onions, radishes, and cu- 
cumbers. 

If the garden-cultivator is to be used, 
leave a space about eighteen inches wide 
between the rows to work in. This imple- 
ment can be adjusted to fit any width de- 
sired. Its teeth can be set to throw the soil 
toward a plant or awav from it. It can be 

14 



LAYING OUT THE GARDEN 



made to do deep or shallow work, as the case 
may require. As a general thing, after a 
plant has attained some size we throw the soil 
toward it. If the teeth are set to do this we 
go down one side of the row and back on 
the other, thus throwing the soil about the 
plant alike on both sides. 

It will probably be necessary to remove 
some weeds in the row, which cannot be 
reached by the cultivator. This can be done 
most effectively by the use of a hoe which 
is triangular in shape, with the handle-socket 
in the center of it. One side is a blade like 
the ordinary hoe. The other comes to a sharp 
point, with which it is possible to work close 
to a plant without running any risk of in- 
juring it — something that cannot be done 
with the ordinary wide-bladed hoe. Weeds 
that grow up side by side with vegetable 
seedlings can be picked away from them so 
easily, and without disturbing them in the 
least, that no hand-pulling will have to be 
resorted to in cleaning the rows. 

Where the garden-cultivator is used there 
will be very little work to do with the hoe, 
as this implement stirs the soil and uproots 
weeds at the same time. But in the small 
garden either hoe or weeding-hook will come 
into daily use. The weeding-hook is a most 

15 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



important tool, though its cost is but ten or 
fifteen cents. It enables one to do a good 
deal of weeding in a short time, does its work 
well, and does away entirely with hand- 
pulling, which has heretofore been one of 
the chief arguments that men have advanced 
against gardening. 



Ill 



PLANTING THE GARDEN 

MOST persons make the serious mistake 
of covering garden seed too deeply. 
Very small seed needs hardly any covering. 
Indeed, it does its best, as a general thing, 
when simply scattered on the surface and 
pressed down into the soil by a smooth board. 
This embeds the seed in the soil, which is 
made firm enough under the pressure of 
the board to retain a sufl&cient amount 
of moisture to assist germination. Very 
fine seed often fails to sprout if covered too 
deeply. 

But most of the seed of garden vegetables 

is not fine enough to admit of this method of 

planting. If a seed-sower is not used, little 

furrows should be made by drawing a stick 

through the soil, into which the seed should 

be dropped as evenly as possible. It should 

then be covered lightly and the soil should 

17 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



be pressed down with the hoe to make it 
comparatively firm. The probabihties are 
that many more plants will come up than it 
is advisable to let grow. These surplus seed- 
lings should be removed from the rows as 
soon as the plants get a good start. 

Nearly all gardeners make use of the seed- 
sower. This is an implement that can be 
adjusted to sow all kinds of seed more evenly 
than it can be sown by hand, and it can be 
sown thicklj^ or thinly, as desired, and at 
any required depth. It cannot be used to 
much advantage in the very small garden, 
where only a small quantity of each kind of 
seed will be made use of, but in large gardens 
it will be found as much a labor-saver as the 
garden-cultivator. 

It is always advisable to plant for a 
succession if the garden is large enough 
to admit of it. By planting at intervals 
of ten days or two weeks it is possible to 
have fresh vegetables throughout almost 
the entire season. Wliere this is done it 
will not be advisable to plant very much of 
any one kind. 

Among almost all vegetables there are 

early, medium, and late varieties. Some of 

each of these should be planted in all gardens 

of a size to warrant so doing. In the small 

18 



PLAXTIXG THE GARDEN 



garden I would advise the choice of the later 
varieties, as these are almost without ex- 
ception superior in flavor to the earlier kinds, 
which are grown more on account of earli- 
ness than quahty. 



IV 



SEEDS THAT GIVE BEST RESULTS 

IT is very important that seed of only the 
best kind should be used, if we would 
grow vegetables of superior quality. Every 
gardener of experience will indorse the truth 
of this statement. 

Said one amateur gardener to me when I 
gave him this advice: ^^Why should one be 
so particular about the seed? It's the culture 
that you give the plant that counts. Plant 
any kind of seed that happens to be handiest 
and take good care of the plants that grow 
from it and you'll have good vegetables.'' 
To some extent what he said w^as true, but 
he had yet to learn that there is a vast dif- 
ference between ordinary seed and seed that 
has bred into it by careful culture the su- 
perior qualities which characterize the choic- 
est varieties of all our garden plants. There 
is such a thing as aristocracy of seed, and no 
seed that is lacking in this feature can be 

20 



SEEDS THAT GIVE BEST RESULTS 



expected to afford the satisfaction that re- 
sults from the use of the best. No amount 
of culture can make a superior vegetable 
from plants grown from inferior seed. Bear 
this in mind, and buy only the best seed on 
the market, be your garden large or small. 
The smaller it is, the greater the importance 
of using only the best. 

^^But how are we who know very little 
about such things to know which is the best?'' 
some one may ask. 

The only answer I can make to this ques- 
tion is this: We have in this country many 
seed firms that have been in existence for 
years — some of them over half a century — 
and these have built up for themselves a 
reputation for handling only seed of the very 
best varieties of garden vegetables that it 
is possible to grow. Inferior sorts have been 
discarded from time to time as those of su- 
perior merit have been produced. These 
firms, proud and jealous of the reputation 
they have gained, cannot afford to deal in 
anything that is not up to their standard 
of ^'the best.'' From these dealers you can 
be sure of getting seed that can always be 
depended on to give the highest degree of 
satisfaction. The seed they sell you may 
cost fi. little more than some of the newer 

21 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



dealers ask for theirs^ but the certainty of 
getting what you ivant makes it well worth 
while to invest some extra money in it. 
Cheap seed — that which is advertised as 
being ^^just as good as higher-priced seed for 
a much smaller amount of monej^'' — is likely 
to prove as cheap in quality as in price. 



V 



EARLY GARDEN WORK 

AFTER planting the garden there will be 
^ a little interval of leisure while the seed 
that has been put into the ground is ger- 
minating. 

Then will come the time of early warfare 
with the weeds. Here is where the weeding- 
hook of which I have spoken will come into 
play in the small garden. This little imple- 
ment is in the form of a claw, with five or 
six hngers, each about an inch long, and 
shaped so that they reach into the ground 
and take a firm hold of whatever plants they 
are placed over. It can be so operated that 
these fingers, working close to plants which 
it is not desired to uproot, will tear away the 
weeds without disturbing the other plants, 
and the soil will be left in light and mellow 
condition, as if a tiny rake had been drawn 
through it. With this tool the work can be 
done with great rapidity. No owner of a 
3 23 ^ 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



garden, large or small, can afford to be 
without it. 

It should be used to supplement the work 
of the cultivator, which can be depended upon 
to take care of all the weeds between the 
rows, but which cannot be worked among 
the plants in the row. 

Weeding should be begun as soon as the 
plants are of a size that makes it possible 
to tell which is seedling and which is weed. 
By beginning the work of clearing the garden 
at this period, and doing it thoroughly, and 
continuing it at intervals thereafter, it will 
be a comparatively easy matter to keep 
weeds under control. But if they are al- 
lowed to get a strong start — as they will in 
an incredibly short time if let alone — it will 
be a difficult matter to subdue them and 
keep the upper hand during the rest of the 
season. It is very important that they 
should be given to understand, at the outset, 
that they will not be tolerated in your gar- 
den. This will necessitate early work and 
careful and regular attention thereafter, but 
it will not be the laborious work that so 
many persons think it is if it is begun at 
the right season and always carried on on 
the offensive. It is when weeds have been 
allowed to intrench themselves firmly in 

24 



EARLY GARDEN WORK 



the garden that this work becomes disagree- 
able. 

Nor is it work that will require a good deal 
of one's time. In the cultivation of a garden 
it is the little attentions, given when needed, 
that count, rather than the amount of labor 
and time expended there, as you will find 
when you come to have a garden of your own. 

If there are any vacant places in the beds 
or rows, fill with plants -taken from places 
where they stand too thick. In the small 
garden there should be not one vacant spot. 
Every bit of soil should be made to do its 
share of work in the production of some 
vegetable. 

If weeds are kept down during the early 
part of the season there ought not to be 
many during the latter part of it. But there 
will be no time when there will not be some 
to wage warfare against, and every gardener 
should make it a rule to destroy every one 
that gets a start as soon as discovered, for, 
hy preventing it from developing seed, we 
can save ourselves a good deal of work next 
season. One weed will bear seed enough to 
fill the whole garden with its progeny if 
allowed to do so. 

If the soil was properlj^ fertilized at plant- 
ing-time it will not be necessary to apply 

25 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



more fertilizer, if any, until the latter part 
of the season, and then only a small amount 
will be required — just enough to enable the 
soil to do its share in ripening off the plants 
that are growing in it. But if, at any time, 
the plants seem to lag or come to a stand- 
still enough should be given to stimulate 
active growth. 

Careful watch should be kept of every- 
thing in the garden, and prompt advantage 
should be taken of any tendency toward 
slow development by making fresh apphca- 
tions of whatever fertilizer was used at the 
beginning of the season. In order to attain 
the success that the gardener aims at in 
the cultivation of vegetables it is absolutely 
necessary to keep them going steadily ahead 
from start to finish, and this can only be 
done by supplying them with a generous 
amount of plant-food. There should be no 
alternations of liberal feeding and lack of 
feeding. 



VI 



VEGETABLE PLANTS IN THE HOUSE 



iVl vegetableKS. With a view to getting 
the start of the season'' and, incidentally, of 
their neighbors, they sow seed in pots and 
boxes in March and April and attempt to get 
an early start'' for plants that will form a- 
basis of supply for family use while they are 
waiting for the development of the general 
crop from seed sown in the garden after the 
weather has become sufficiently warm to 
warrant outdoor gardening. In some in- 
stances comparative success has resulted 
from plants started into growth in the house, 
but nine times out of ten, it is safe to say, 
the result has been entire failure. The seed- 
lings grow fairly well at first, but soon be- 
come weak and die. If, by chance, a few 
survive until conditions warrant putting 
them in the ground, they are so lacking in 
vitality that the change from indoors to 




persons would like to grow early 



27 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



outdoors is pretty sure to be the end of 
them. 

I would never advise trying to grow plants 
from seed, in the house, unless the grower 
understands beforehand the drawbacks to 
plant-growth which prevail in the average 
dwelling, and is willing to do all he can to 
overcome them. Simply filling boxes or 
pots with earth, putting seed into them, 
and supplying water will not insure success. 

One of the unfavorable conditions which 
seedling plants must struggle against is too 
much heat, if they are kept in the living- 
room. An undue amount of warmth forces 
them into abnormal development in the 
early stages of their growth, and a little 
later on there comes a reaction from the 
weakness thus brought about, and this re- 
action is almost invariably death to the ten- 
der plant. 

Another unfavorable condition is the re- 
sult of indiscriminate watering. The soil 
is either kept too wet or too dry. To grow 
good plants there must be an even supply 
of moisture. 

A third unfortunate condition is the result 
of failure to give the plants a liberal supply 
of fresh air. 

It is possible, however, to overcome these 

28 



VEGETABLE PLANTS IN THE HOUSE 



conditions and grow really good plants from 
seed in the living-room, but it cannot be 
done unless the amateur gardener is suffi- 
ciently interested in the undertaking to give 
his plants all the attention they need. 

Instead of keeping them in the living- 
room — which in most instances will have a 
temperature of 79 or 80° — I would advise 
giving them place in a room opening off the 
sitting-room, where the temperature can be 
so regulated that it will not go above 65° 
at any time. There is far less danger of 
plants suffering from a low temperature 
than of their being injured by an excess of 
heat. If the room in w^hich they are kept 
has snug windows, in most instances it will 
get all the warmth that is needed by leaving 
open at night the door which connects it 
with the living-room. If the weather is 
very cold, the plants can be removed, tem- 
porarily, to the living-room, or they can be 
covered with newspapers. Thick paper 
shades at the windows will do much to keep 
out cold and prevent draughts. Storm- 
sash will do this most effectively, but it 
interferes with giving the young plants the 
fresh air they need. Therefore I would pre- 
fer the shades, and depend upon removal to 
a warmer place on extra-cold nights. 

29 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



Fresh air will be found a most important 
factor in the growth of seedling plants in- 
doors. Unless it can be given it will be al- 
most impossible to grow any plant well in 
the ordinary dwelling. It should be ad- 
mitted to the room on every pleasant day 
by opening a window at the top, or a door 
at some distance from the plants. The fresh, 
cold air should be allowed to mix with the 
warm air in the room before it comes in con- 
tact with the plants, as a chill will often do 
about as much damage as a touch of frost. 

Watering these plants is a matter of prime 
importance. Generally water is applied care- 
lessly and irregularly — too much to-day, 
and none at all to-morrow. We saturate the 
soil with it while only enough is required to 
make it moist. An over-supply of water at 
the roots, combined with too much heat 
and lack of fresh air, will undermine the 
constitution of any plant, because such a 
combination excites unnatural development, 
and this means a lowering of the vital force 
to the danger-point. 

I have devised a method by which I have 
succeeded in controlling the supply of mois- 
ture in the soil to my complete satisfaction. 
I use boxes about four inches deep to start 
my plants in. In the bottom of these boxes 

30 



VEGETABLE PLANTS IN THE HOUSE 



I put sphagnum moss. There should be 
at least an inch of it after it has been pressed 
down by the weight of the soil above. The 
bottom of the seed-box is bored full of small 
holes. Each box sets in a shallow pan of 
galvanized iron, on a layer of coarse gravel, 
which raises it enough to allow water to cir- 
culate freely under it. Water is poured into 
the iron pan, using enough to come up about 
half an inch above the bottom of the seed- 
box, or in contact with the moss in it, and it 
should be kept at this height at all times. 
The moss absorbs the moisture like a sponge, 
and the soil above constantlj^ sucks up all 
that is needed to keep it in a sufficiently 
moist condition to meet the requirements of 
the plants growing in it. The absorbent 
qualities of the moss are such that an ex- 
cessive amount of moisture is never communi- 
cated to the soil above. Thus I secure a 
steady and even supply, which does away 
entirely with the danger resulting from the 
application of water to the surface of the 
soil from watering-pot or basin. 

If the temperature can be controlled in 
such a way that it will not vary much from 
60 to 65"^, if the soil can be kept moist but 
never wet, and fresh air can be given in gen- 
erous quantity regularly, it will be found a 

31 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDEXIXG 



comparatively easy matter to grow plants 
satisfactorily from seed in the house^ and have 
them in such healthy condition by the time 
it is safe to put them out in the garden that 
they will average up well with the plants the 
professional gardener raises in hotbed and 
cold-frame. By the use of such plants, and 
such plants only, can we expect to grow early 
vegetables successfully. 



VII 



STANDARD V.\RIETIES OF \TGETABLES 

THE amateur gardener will find it ex- 
tremely perplexing work to make a 
satisfactory^ selection of varieties of vege- 
tables to grow in his garden. He knows 
quite well, as a general thing, what ki?ids 
he wants to grow, but when he comes to a 
consultation of the seedsmen's catalogues he 
discovers that of each kind of vegetable 
listed therein there are so many varieties 
mentioned that he is bewildered. IMost of 
them are described as being so desirable that 
he cannot help getting the impression that 
if he rules out this or that one he is likel}^ 
to deprive himself of the very thing from 
which he would obtain the highest degree of 
satisfaction. Xine times out of ten he finds, 
after going through the catalogues and mark- 
ing the kinds and varieties that appeal to 
him most forcibly, that he has a list which 
would furnish enough seed to supply an 
average-sized market-garden. 

33 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



I would advise the amateur gardener to 
attempt the culture of only a few of the many 
varieties described in the catalogues, and 
these of the very best. But what constitutes 
^Hhe very best'^ is a hard matter for him to 
decide where all are described by adjectives 
in the superlative degree. He will find, by 
comparing the catalogues of the various 
seed firms, that there are described in most 
of them certain varieties of each kind of 
vegetable that seem common to all, along 
with many other varieties whose names dif- 
fer greatly, though the descriptions of them 
indicate that there is not much difference in 
quality, or in other general respects. If he 
confines his selection to such varieties of 
each kind as the various dealers list under 
the same names in their catalogues he will be 
making no mistake, for the fact that all 
leading dealers carry these varieties in stock 
is sufficient proof that they are standard 
varieties, and of such superior merit that no 
up-to-date dealer can afford to exclude them 
from his list. 

Take, for instance, StowelFs Evergreen 
sweet-corn, and Champion of England pea. 
All dealers handle these, because they are 
standard, and always in demand because 
their superior quaUties have made them uni- 

34 



STANDARD VARIETIES OF VEGETABLES 



versal favorites wherever grown. But they 
have other varieties of the same vegetable 
of which each makes a specialty, under 
names which will be found in no cata- 
logue but their own. Many of these are 
doubtless possessors of all the good qualities 
claimed for them, but this we cannot be sure 
about. But the sorts which are common to 
all are those of whose merit there can be no 
two opinions. These are the varieties the 
inexperienced gardener can select with the 
assurance that he is getting the best thing 
of its kind on the market. 

In this chapter I propose to make mention 
of only such kinds of vegetables as I have 
grown in my own garden. I do this because 
so many beginners in gardening prefer to 
depend on the advice of some one who has 
familiarized himself with the merits of the 
various vegetables adapted to ordinary gar- 
dening. And I propose to give with each 
such brief .cultural directions as seem of most 
importance, thus making it possible for the 
amateur to avoid some of the mistakes that 
might be made if he were wholly ignorant 
of the requirements of his plants. After 
having experimented with many kinds I have 
pinned my faith to the kinds I shall make 

mention of, and I have no hesitancy in recom- 

35 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



mending them to the attention of all garden- 
erSj feeling confident that a trial of them will 
bear me out in the statement that no better 
list can be made. There may be others of 
equal or superior merit, but if there are I 
have still to find out what they are. 

Asparagus 

Taking the list alphabetically, the first 
vegetable to consider is asparagus. Con- 
over's Colossal seems to combine all the 
merits of the several varieties on the market 
in such a degree as to give it a place at the 
head of the list of desirable kinds for ordinary 
garden culture. It is tender, fine-flavored, 
and very productive. A dozen plants, after 
becoming well established, will furnish all 
that will be required by a family of four or 
five persons. 

In order to secure good crops of this de- 
licious vegetable it will be necessary to dig 
up the soil in which it is to be planted to 
the depth of two or three feet, and fill the 
bottom of the excavation with strong manure. 
Pack this down firmly, and then return to 
the trench the soil thrown out from it, fer- 
tilizing this well as you do so. While as- 
paragus will grow in a soil that is not at all 

36 



STANDARD VARIETIES OF VEGETABLES 



rich, and will live on indefinitely under all 
kinds of neglect and abuse, it must be given 
plenty of strong food and good care in order 
to enable it to do itself justice. I would not 
advise attempting to grow it from seed, as it 
takes a long time for seedling plants to reach 
maturity. I would get two- or three-year- 
old plants. Set them about eighteen inches 
apart and at least four inches below the sur- 
face. Keep weeds and grass away from them. 
Give the asparagus-bed a place in the garden 
by itself, preferably along a fence or in some 
location where it will not interfere with other 
plants which call for the frequent use of the 
garden-cultivator. On no account plant it 
in that part of the garden where it will be 
necessary to use a plow, for it is a plant that 
must be left undisturbed if you would have 
it do its best. Cover the beds with coarse 
manure in the fall, and work this into the 
soil about, the plants in spring. 



Beans 

Mammoth Stringless Green Pod matures 
early, and is very tender, fine-flavored, and 
productive. It is a general favorite for the 
home garden. 

Golden Wax is later than the green-podded 

37 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDEXIXG 



variety mentioned above. It is valuable as 
a string-bean, and for shelling. 

Beans are quite tender, therefore they 
should not be planted until the weather be- 
comes warm and settled. Plant in rov\\s tvro 
feet apart, and about four inches apart in the 
row, or in hills of three or four plants each. 
Cultivate frequently during the early part 
of summer, throwing the soil toward the 
plants. Do not work among them while 
they are wet from dew or rain. 

If a pole-bean is wanted, Improved Lima 
will be found extremely satisfactory because 
of its productiveness and its fine, buttery 
flavor. This class supphes the table with 
sheUed beans only, its pods being too tough 
to use as a string-bean. Plant in hills of six 
or eight, setting a pole six or seven feet tall 
in the center of each hill for the plants to 
climb by. 

Beet 

I would advise two varieties of this vege- 
table where the garden is large enough to 
warrant the use of more than one. Crosby's 
Egyptian stands at the head of the list as an 
early variety. It is remarkably tender, and 
has a sugary flavor that is most delicious. 
As a second variety I would advise Crimson 



STANDARD \\\RIETIES OF VEGETABLES 



Globe. This is very sweet and fine-flavored, 
and comes to perfection during the latter 
part of summer. It is a good keeper, and a 
quantity of it should be stored in the cellar 
for winter use. 

Sow seeds in rows sixteen to eighteen 
inches apart. Sow thickly, and use the sur- 
plus plants as greens while young and tender, 
making use of 'both top and root. Thin to 
three or four inches apart. 

Cabbage 

Unless the garden is of considerable size 
I would not advise planting this vegetable, 
because it takes up so much room that might 
better be given to other kinds which the 
housewife will find more useful. The plants 
should stand at least two feet apart. Seed 
can be put into the ground about the first of 
May, or plants can be started in the hotbed 
if wanted for very early use. Seedlings can 
be transplanted as soon as they have made 
their second leaf. 

For a very earh' variety I would advise 
Jersey Wakefield. For late use Late Drum- 
head or Stone Alason Alarblehead — both ex- 
cellent in all respects, and fine for winter use. 

Care must be taken to prevent insects 
4 . 39 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



from injuring the plants during the various 
stages of their development. Spray with an 
infusion of the tobacco extract known as 
Nicoticide. This will effectually prevent the 
pests from doing harm if applied thoroughly 
and frequently. 

If cabbage is to be wintered in the cellar, 
it must be kept cool and dry. Some prefer 
to bury the heads in trenches, in dry locations 
in the garden. The trench should be about 
two feet deep. Spread straw in the bottom 
of it, and place the cabbage on it, head down, 
with the large leaves folded well together. 
Then cover with three or four inches of hay, 
and bank up with soil. Put a board over 
this to shed rain. The cabbage will freeze, 
but if left in the ground until the frost is 
gradually extracted from it it will be found 
crisp and brittle, and much more satisfactory 
for table use than that which is wintered in 
the cellar. Care must be taken to exclude 
rain. If water gets to it it will be ruined. 
It is a good plan to cover the trench with 
oilcloth or tarred paper, both being water- 
proof. 

Cauliflower 

This is a favorite vegetable when well 
grown and properly cared for. It requires 

40 



STANDARD VARIETIES OF VEGETABLES 

a rich soil, a location well exposed to the 
sun, and frequent applications of water if 
the season happens to be a dry one. Culti- 
vate as you would cabbage. For early use 
the plants should be started in the hotbed, 
and transplanted to the cold-frame as soon 
as they have made their third leaves. Put 
into the open ground as soon as the soil is 
in good working condition. Set the plants 
about two feet apart. When heads have 
formed they should be bleached by drawing 
the large leaves together and tying them with 
strips of soft cloth. 

For a late crop, to mature during the 
pickling season, start plants in open ground 
in May. 

The best early variety is Dwarf Erfurt. 
Autumn Giant is an excellent late variety. 

Carrot 

This plant likes a deep, warm, sandy soil. 
Early Short Horn matures by midsummer. 
It is rich and sweet in flavor. Red Inter- 
mediate is a later variety, excellent for fall 
and winter use. Comparatively few persons 
give this plant a place in their gardens, but 
it richly deserves a place there because of its 
value as an article of food, as w^ell as because 

41 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



of its health-giving quahties. It adds greatly 
to the variety of the bill of fare, and where 
it appears frequently on the table a liking for 
it is soon developed, and thereafter it be- 
comes a standard vegetable in the housewife's 
list of must-haves.'^ It adds a delightful 
flavor to vegetable soups. 

Celery 

The seed of early celery shauld be sown in 
the hotbed. Transplant the seedlings to the 
cold-frame and allow them to remain there 
until May. Then set in the richest soil at 
your disposal, six inches apart in the row. 
Blanch by setting up boards a foot or more 
in width each side the row, allowing an open- 
ing about three inches wide at the top 
through which the plants can get a little 
light. For late and winter use, sow the seeds 
in open ground in May. Bleach by earthing 
up gradually, as the stalks develop, until you 
have the plants buried to within a few inches 
of the tip of their leaves. Use clean, dry 
soil in banking the plants. Sawdust is good, 
but care must be taken to make use of a 
kind that does not have a strong odor. Pine- 
dust will give the plants a disagreeable flavor. 

For winter use, take up plants, root and 

42 



STANDARD VARIETIES OF VEGETABLES 



all, and pack close together in boxes and store 
in a cool, dark cellar. 

\\Tiite Plume is the best early variety. 
Giant Pascal is probably the most satis- 
factory winter variety, but Winter Queen is 
a favorite with mam^ Both are so tender 
and have such a rich, nutty flavor that it 
is not an easy matter to decide between them. 

Cucumber 

For very early cucumbers plant the seed 
in the hotbed in March or April, but do not 
put the plants into the garden until all dan- 
ger of frost is over. This plant requires a 
rich and mellow soil. It should be set in 
hills at least four feet apart. It is a good 
plan to start the seed in pieces of sod placed 
grass-side down. This enables one to move 
them from the hotbed without any disturb- 
ance of their roots. The cucumber- or 
squash-beetle often destroys the plants when 
they are put in the open ground if close 
watch is not taken and prompt effort made 
to rout the enemy. Spray with Nicoticide 
infusion, taking pains to have it reach the 
under side of the leaves. Dry road-dust 
sifted thickly over the plants is often found 
quite effective, but because of the inability 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDEXIXG 



to apply it to the under side of the leaves 
the liquid insecticide will be found more ef- 
fective. 

Improved Early ^Miite Spine is a favorite 
with all who like a crisp, tender-meated, 
finely flavored cucumber. Ever-bearing is 
an excellent sort for pickling as well as for 
use on the table during the fall, as it con- 
tinues to bear until frost kihs the vines. 

Corn 

Sweet-corn is one of the most delicious of 
all garden vegetables, and every garden that 
is large enough to admit of its culture should 
give place to two or tln^ee varieties of it. 
Because of its tall growth and the distance 
requked between rows it is not adapted to 
cultm^e in the very small garden, though I 
would willingly go without some of the other 
vegetables generally grown there in order 
to give place to a few hills of it. 

Golden Bantam produces ears only four or 
five inches in length, but what they lack in 
size they make up for in tenderness and sweet- 
ness. 

Country Gentleman is a medium variety, 
very tender, sweet, and juicy. 

But the ideal sweet-corn is Stowell's Ever- 

44 



STANDARD VARIETIES OF VEGETABLES 



green. No other variety equals it in tender- 
ness, sugary sweetness, and rich flavor. It 
does not come to maturit}^ until quite late in 
the season, but it remains in excellent eating- 
condition until the plant is killed hy frost. 

Do not plant until the weather and the 
ground are warm — generally about Alay 
10th at the extreme North. Sweet-corn seed 
often decays if put into the ground as early 
as field-corn. Have the soil rich and mellow, 
and cultivate frequently and thoroughly. If 
a dry spell comes along make use of the cul- 
tivator daily until the drought is broken. 

Eiidive 

This plant ought to be grown far more 

extensively than it is because it is one of the 

best salad plants we have for fall and w^inter 

use. Some should be sown in April for use 

during the summer, and some in Juh^, for 

late use. WTien the plants are two or three 

inches high transplant to rich soil, setting 

them about ten inches apart. When nearly 

full-grown, gather the leaves together and 

tie them with strips of cloth, thus excluding 

the light from the central part of the bunch. 

It must be blanched before it is fit for table 

use, . This part of the work must be done 

45 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



while the plants are perfectly dry. If done 
when they are wet or even moist, they will 
be quite sure to rot. 

Lettuce 

This plant should be started in the hotbed 
if there is one. The seedlings should be 
transferred to the cold-frame before they 
have attained much size, and left there until 
the ground becomes warm. Very fine let- 
tuce, however, can be grown from seed sown 
directly in the open ground about the first 
of May, if the soil is warm and rich. A fer- 
tile soil is quite important, as it is necessary 
to bring on a rapid growth in order to have 
the plant crisp and tender. Slow develop- 
ment gives a comparatively worthless article. 

The All Heart variety is excellent for spring 
and early summer use. It forms a solid 
head, and is very crisp and tender, with that 
rich, buttery flavor that the lover of this 
plant insists on. Mammoth Salamander is 
one of the best late-season kinds. 

Melons 

These, like corn and cabbage, are not 

adapted to culture in the small garden be- 

46 " . 



STANDARD VARIETIES OF VEGETABLES 



cause they require more room than it is pos- 
sible to give them without giving up other 
vegetables which the housewife cannot well 
afford to go without. But in good-sized 
gardens I would advise their culture, because 
there is nothing else quite equal to them in 
delicacy of flavor and luscious sweetness. 
They require a light, rich soil. Plant when 
the ground is warm, and not before, in hills 
four feet apart. It is a good plan to put a 
generous quantity of manure from the hen- 
house in each hill, working it well into the 
soil before seed is planted. Put at least a 
dozen seed in each hill, for some of the seed- 
lings will doubtless be destroyed by the beetle 
that works on cucumber- and squash-vines. 
Spray all over with Nicoticide infusion as 
soon as the first beetle is seen, also shower 
with dry road-dust. If a fungous disease at- 
tacks them spray with Bordeaux mixture. 

Rocky Ford is the standard variety of 
muskmelon at present. It has a thick green- 
ish-yellow flesh, is smooth-grained, is very 
sweet, has a most delicious flavor, and is so 
tender that it fairly seems to melt in the 
mouth. Netted Gem is another standard 
variety. 

Among the watermelons Ice-Cream is a 
general favorite. Mammoth Ironclad grows 

47 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 

to a very large size, is solid-meated, and has 
a peculiarly sweet and luscious flavor. 

Onion 

This should be sown in light, sandy soil, 
if possible, as it seldom does well in a heavy 
soil. 

Yellow Dan vers is the leading variety for 
the home garden. Silver skin has a mild 
flavor, and on that account it is a favorite 
with many. It is fine for pickling. It also 
keeps well in winter. 

Parsley 

Sow this plant thickly, in April, in rows 
of mellow soil. As the seed germinates very 
slowly, it is well to soak it in warm water be- 
fore sowing. If you have a light cellar, 
plants can be potted in fall and stored there 
for winter use. The cellar window is a good 
place for them. Every housewife who prides 
herself on the attractive appearance of her 
roasts and other meat dishes and many kinds 
of salad will not be willing to be without 
this plant. Dwarf Perpetual is the standard 
variety for the home garden. Its leaves are 
charmingly crimped and curly, and of beau- 

4S 



STANDARD VARIETIES OF VEGETABLES 



tiful dark green that makes them very orna- 
mental when used as a garnish for the table. 

Parsnip 

This vegetable is not grown as much as it 
ought to be. One does not care for it until 
winter sets in. Then it affords a much- 
appreciated change from other vegetables. 
It is an excellent keeper when stored in the 
cellar in winter. Or the roots can be left 
in the ground until spring, when they will 
be found delightfully fresh and tender. Sow 
in April or ]\Iay, in deep, rich soil. Hollow 
Crown is the standard variety. 

Pea 

This vegetable is so extremely hardy that it 
can be planted with entire safetj^ quite early 
in spring. There are varieties that come into 
bearing a few weeks after sowing, followed 
by medium early kinds, which give place, a 
little later, to such varieties as Champion of 
England and Telephone. Champion of Eng- 
land is the most delicious of all peas. 

Unless the garden is a very sm_all one, one 

should plan for a succession. If this is done 

it will be possible to enjoy this vegetable 

49 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



during the greater part of the season, with 
possibly the exception of the very hottest 
part of summer. Best results are secured by 
planting the seed two or three inches deep in 
furrows. The soil should be rich. If there 
is a little clay in it, all the better. 

Low-growing varieties require no support, 
but the tall kinds must be bushed or trained 
on coarse-meshed wire netting. Bushes suit 
this plant better than anj^thing else. If the 
vines are allowed to crinkle down and come 
in contact with the ground their pods will 
almost alwaj^s decay, and the vines will 
mildew and become so diseased that an end 
will be put to their bearing. 

American Wonder is one of the best very 
early kinds. Gradus is next in order. Ad- 
vancer I consider the best medium variety. 
Telephone is a most excellent late varietj^, 
second only to Champion of England, which 
is everywhere conceded to be the ideal pea 
so far as productiveness, size, rich flavor, 
and sweetness are concerned. 

• 

Potato 

Anybody can grow the potato, after a 

fashion. But in order to grow it well it must 

receive more attention than is generally 

50 



STANDARD VARIETIES OF VEGETABLES 



given it. It must have a rich and mellow 
soil — a sand}^ one is preferable — and the 
best of cultivation. 

This is one of the vegetables that require 
considerable room, therefore it is not adapted 
to small-garden culture. But when space will 
admit of it it should alwaj^s be grown, be- 
cause it is one of the garden products that 
can be used in so many ways that the house- 
wife finds it one of the things she cannot well 
get along without. 

Seed is obtained hy cutting old potatoes 
in pieces, each piece having an ^^eye'^ or 
growing-point. The pieces should be planted 
in hills, four or five pieces to a hill, with hills 
two feet apart. Cover to a depth of four inches. 

If plants are not watched while small, in- 
sects are likely to attack them. Spray with 
Nicoticide infusion. Later in the season the 
Colorado beetle will be quite likelj^ to put 
in its appearance. Then use Paris green, 
either in infusion, or mixed with land-plaster, 
and applied in a dry state while the plants 
are moist from dew. If any fungous disease 
is discovered, spray mth Bordeaux mixture. 
All these insecticides can be procured from 
druggists or dealers in agricultural goods, 
or they can be obtained from the dealer from 
whom you buy seed. 

51 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



It is well to plant this vegetable for a suc- 
cession. One of the best early varieties is 
Beauty of Hebron^ which matures in eight 
to ten weeks from planting. Early Rose is 
everywhere a favorite, as is Early Ohio. 
Rural New-Yorker is a standard late variety. 
Burbank's Seedling is excellent as an inter- 
mediate sort. All the varieties named are 
of superior flavor, very productive, and sure 
to give complete satisfaction. 



Radish 

This most toothsome vegetable should be 
sown early, either in the hotbed or the open 
ground. If you have a light, warm soil and 
a location that is fully exposed to the sun 
you can raise almost as fine radishes outside 
of the hotbed as in it, though of course not 
as early in the season. A crop will develop 
in five or six weeks from sowing. Plant at 
intervals of two or three weeks for a suc- 
cession. Cardinal Globe is the standard 
early variety. Crimson Giant is a little later. 
Both have that crisp, tender, and juicy qual- 
ity which makes the radish so universal a 
favorite. Icicle is a long-growing white vari- 
ety, very crisp and brittle. This has the merit 

52 



STANDARD VARIETIES OF VEGETABLES 



of remaining in condition for use longer than 
any other variety. 

Rhubarb 

This plant likes a deep, rich, and rather 
moist soil. It should be planted in perma- 
nent beds, about three feet apart. I would 
not advise attempting to grow it from seed. 
Get roots one or two years old. Victoria is 
a standard variety. 

Salsify 

A vegetable that ought to be grown a 
great deal more than it is. Its popular 
name of vegetable oyster'' is not a misno- 
mer, for it has a distinct oyster flavor. Many 
persons prefer it to the bivalve, when it is 
cooked properly. Being hardy, it can be 
left in the ground over winter, or it can be 
dug and stored in the cellar along with par- 
snips and carrots for use in winter. Sow 
early. 

Squash 

Probably the best variety of summer 
squash for home use is Giant Crook Neck. 
For winter use the Hubbard stands at the 

53 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDEXIXG 



head of the hst. These favorite vegetables 
requhe a rich soil. They should be planted 
in hills about tlu^ee feet apart. Have the 
soil rich. Keep watch of them, for they are 
liable to attacks from beetles. It is weU to 
sprinkle a handful of tobacco-dust about the 
young plants. As they become larger they 
can be sprayed vrith the Xicoticide infusion 
heretofore spoken of. 

Spinach 

Deshable for ''greens." Sow as early in 
the spring as the groiuid is in g<?'Od w^-rking 
condition. Have the soil C]_uite rich to force 
a tender, succulent growth. Sow for stic- 
cession. a month apart. The Long-Sea-on 
variety is the Ijest I have any knowledge of. 

Tojmdo 

Start this plant in the hotbed if you have 
one. If not. s-r^w in the open groimd as soon 
as it has become warm. To seciue a very 
early ^crop the plants must be started as 
early as ]\Iarch. Vlien three or foiu inches 
liigli transplant from hotbed to cold-frame, 
but do not put into the open groimd imtil all 
danger fr<jm irij.-t i- over. If you are without 

54 



STANDARD VARIETIES OF VEGETABLES 



hotbed facilities I would advise purchasing 
plants from the gardener, who tries to supply 
his customers with strong and healthy plants 
very early in the season. Plants from seed 
sown in the open ground will be so late in 
ripening a crop, as a general thing, that they 
will not afford satisfaction. Standard vari- 
eties are Stone, very solid and firm-fleshed 
and of fine quality, and Ponderosa, very 
large, fine-flavored, and almost seedless. 

5 



VIII 



SMALL FRUITS AND THEIR CULTURE 

QUITE as important as garden vegetables 
is the small-fruit department of each 
home that is living up to its privileges. Of 
course there will be no room for raspberries 
and blackberries on the little home lot, but 
one can have a row of strawberries there, in 
almost all cases, and a few currant-bushes 
can be tucked away in nooks and corners 
where quite likelj^ nothing else would be 
grown if the tiny space were not given up to 
them. 

There are places all over the country where 
a collection of small fruit ought to be grown, 
but which are without it. ^^Tiy? 

There are several answers to the question. 
One is: Neglect to live up to the possibilities 
of the place because of carelessness, or pos- 
sibly because the owner is distrustful of his 
ability to grow them successfully. Another 
is: The impression that these plants are so 

5G 



SMALL FRUITS AND THEIR CULTURE 



exacting in their demands that none but 
skilled gardeners are warranted in undertak- 
ing their culture. And a third one is: The 
uncertainty of being unable to take them 
through our severe Northern winters safely. 

The first objection is met with the argu- 
ment that the man who is obliged to w^ork 
for a living, and has a family to support, 
has no excuse for neglecting to avail himself 
and those dependent on him of all the good 
things that can be grown from the plants 
named, if he owns a piece of ground large 
enough to accommodate a small collection. 
The second objection is not justified, because 
it is an easy matter for any man to learn 
how to care for small fruits if he sets about it 
with the intention of mastering its details. 
There is really no basis in fact for the third 
one, for we have, to-day, varieties of each 
kind of small fruit that are entirely hardy at 
the North if properly cared for in the fall. 

There should be a strawberry-bed, large 
or small, in every garden, if I had my way 
about it. 

Here I suppose some reader will meet me 

with the objection that ^^strawberries don't 

pay. They require too much care, and the 

beds soon run out, and then everything has 

to be done over again.'' 

57 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 

Now I claim that strawberries do pay if 
they get the right kind of treatment. No 
one has a right to expect much from them if 
he simply sticks a plant into the soil and 
leaves it to take care of itself thereafter. 
Straw^berries cultivated in this manner donH 
ip^j, I admit. And it is well that they do 
not, for no one has a right to expect much, 
if anything, from a plant of any kind that he 
isn't willing to take good care of. ^^Tiile the 
strawberry will not take care of itself, it 
really requires no more attention than most 
other crops. And as to running out,'' that 
cuts no figure, when you come to think 
about it, because doing things all over 
again" amounts to no more than planting 
vegetables each season. This has to be done 
yearly, and strawberries will demand only 
annual attention, thus putting the two classes 
of plants on practically the same basis. 

I am aware that some liters on straw- 
berry culture have ventilated a good many 
far-fetched ideas of their own in print rela- 
tive to the culture of this plant, and so 
elaborate and complicated are some of these 
theories that many an amateur has, after 
reading them, abandoned the idea of having 
a strawberry-bed. But it is a fact susceptible 

of proof by any man who gives it a trial that 

58 



SMALL FRUITS AND THEIR CULTURE 



strawberry culture may be made a success 
without adopting the views of persons who 
seem to think that theory is more important 
than conmion sense. 

The simplest method of strawberry-grow- 
ing that I know anything about is what is 
called the one-crop sj^stem." 

Set the plants in rows three feet apart, 
to allow the use of the cultivator between 
them. Let the plants be a foot apart in the 
row. Keep the ground between the rows 
well cultivated, and in the second sunmier, 
when the plants are bearing their first crop 
of fruit, allow them to send their runners 
into the space between the rows and take 
root there. When these young plants have 
fully established themselves — which will be 
by the end of August, as a general thing — 
take a spade and cut down between them 
and the old plants. Then dig up the old 
plants, making the place where they grew 
a space between rows. Next season train 
runners from the bearing plants back into 
the old row. By thus alternating the loca- 
tion of the plants you keep the garden sup- 
plied with one-year-old ones from which 
you get but one crop of fruit. This method 
is so simple that any one can understand it, 
and it has the indorsement of some of our 

59 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



most up-to-date gardeners who recognize the 
fact that one full crop of berries is about all 
that can be expected from the strawberry. 
Of course older plants will bear fruit, but 
never of the quantity and quality which is 
obtained from strong, healthy young plants 
whose vitality has not been di'awn upon by 
the production of a heavy first crop. 

This one-crop system makes it possible to 
grow fine berries without giving the plants 
more care than is required by ordinary vege- 
tables. 

The soil for strawberries should be rich and 
mellow, and should be kept entirely free from 
weeds. 

It is a good plan to spread clean straw 
between the rows before the crop ripens, to 
keep the fruit from coming in contact with 
the ground or having sand washed upon it 
by heavy rains. 

The best variet}^ of strawberry that I have 
ever grow^n is Brandywine. It is very pro- 
ductive, bears large berries, has a most de- 
licious flavor, and is never hollow-hearted. 
It ripens in mid-season. 

The best late variety, allowing me to be 
judge, is Gandy. This kind requires a very 
rich soil. Wliere it can be given this, no 
more satisfactory late-cropper can be grown, 

60 



SMALL FRUITS AND THEIR CULTURE 



The two varieties named above combine all 
the best qualities of this most popular fruit. 

Several times in the last few years the an- 
nouncem^ent has been made that a fall-bear- 
ing strawberry has been produced, but as it 
was of European origin it did not prove satis- 
factory under American conditions. Of late, 
however, some of our most progressive small- 
fruit growers have succeeded in growing two 
varieties that promise to be really good fall- 
croppers. These produce, if allowed to do 
so, their main crop at the same time as other 
varieties, and keep on bearing until frost. 
But in order to secure a good crop late in the 
season it is advisable to cut away all buds 
that appear in June, keeping the strength 
of the plant in reserve for the fall crop. It 
is well to mulch these plants during the hot, 
dry weather of summer. These fall-bearing 
varieties are on the market under the names 
of Superb and Progressive. 

The blackberry responds generously to 
good treatment, bearing enormous quanti- 
ties of large, juicy berries of most delicious 
flavor when given proper care. 

It prefers a rather sandy soil. 

In order to secure a fresh stock of wood 
for each season's crop the old canes should 

61 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



be cut away as soon as they have ripened 
their fruit, thus throwing all the strength of 
the plant into the production of new canes 
from which fruit is to be expected next sea- 
son. 

While the two leading varieties, Kittatinny 
and Snyder, are quite hardy, it is well to take 
the precaution of giving them some protec- 
tion to guard against the possible loss of some 
of the unripened growth of the season. This 
is done to the best advantage by removing 
two or three spadefuls of soil from the basQ 
of each plant, close to its roots, and then 
tipping the bush over until it lies flat on the 
ground. This could not be done without 
running the risk of breaking some of the 
stiff and brittle canes if the excavation were 
not made. When the bushes are spread out 
on the ground, where they are held in place 
by laying boards across them, throw some 
coarse litter over the base of the plant, and 
scatter a covering of straw over the branches. 
As soon as the frost is out of the ground in 
the spring, lift the bushes and replace the soil 
that was taken away in the fall. 

Raspberries are second only to strawberries 
in deliciousness of flavor, and should have a 
place in all gardens where there is room for 

62 



SMALL FRUITS AND THEIR CULTURE 



them. They do well in almost all soils, if 
well drained. A sandy loam, however, is the 
soil that seems to suit them best. Their old 
canes, like those of the blackberry, should 
be cut away at the end of the fruiting season. 

Cuthbert is the leading red variety. Cum- 
berland is the favorite black kind. 

I notice that one of our most prominent 
growers of small fruit offers an ever-bearing 
raspberry this season, under the name of 
Red Ranere. I have no knowledge of its 
merits other than that which I gain from the 
grower's announcement in introducing this 
sort to the market, but from intimate per- 
sonal acquaintance with the man I am quite 
confident that the plant must possess real 
merit, for he is not a person given to exagger- 
ation. I quote from what he has to say in 
reference to this variety in a leading horti- 
cultural magazine: 

This is not only the earliest red raspberry, but it 
is a perpetual fruiting one. Its main crop is greater 
than that of any other variety I grow. It continues 
to bear on its old canes until late in August, at about 
which time the canes of the season's growth come 
into bearing. These produce a large amount of fine 
fruit until late in the fall. The berries are very at- 
tractive, being a bright, rich crimson. They are of 
good size, and of very superior quality, -^ith a rich, 
sugarv, full raspberry flavor. 

63 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



I would advise the amateur gardener to 
give this variety a trial. Raspberries late in 
the fall would be thoroughly appreciated by 
those with whom this fruit is a favorite. 

The currant is one of the garden's indis- 
pensables. It furnishes us with fruit of just 
the right degree of tart acidity to fit the sea- 
son in which it is at its prime, and who does 
not get a deal of enjoyment out of a green- 
currant pie? 

No kind of small fruit is easier to grow 
successfully. Worms frequently attack the 
bushes in spring, and often ruin the crop 
unless steps are taken to put a prompt end 
to their depredations, but spraying with 
Nicoticide infusion will rout them in most 
cases. Application of this insecticide should 
be repeated at intervals during the earlier 
part of the season. 

Fay's Prolific is a standard variety for 
home use. This is a dark, rich red, most 
beautiful to behold. White Grape is an 
ideal white variety. Combine the two and 
you have a table decoration quite as colorful 
as that furnished by any flowers, and almost 
as attractive. 

The currant is one of the housewife's most 
valued fruits for jam- and jelly-making. One 

64 



SMALL FRUITS AND THEIR CULTURE 



enterprising dealer has recently introduced 
to this country a French sort known as Bar- 
le-Duc, or Preserving Currant. This variety 
has a flavor that no other variety can lay 
claim to, and another feature of merit pecu- 
liar to it is that it is almost seedless. For a 
good many years the entire output of this 
currant was under the control of a French 
fruit company who manufactured it into 
jam which has been extensively sold in this 
country under the name of Confiture Bar- 
le-Duc. So superior has it been considered 
to home-made as well as imported jams, that 
it has readily sold at double the price of them. 
I would advise the amateur to procure a few 
plants of this variety and experiment with it. 

The gooseberry must not be overlooked in 
this connection. Many persons claim that 
the bush mildews to such an extent that the 
crop is oftener than not a failure. This can 
largely be prevented by planting the bushes 
farther apart than the currant, and thinning 
out the branches so that there will at all 
times be a free circulation of air about them. 
It is well to give a heavy mulch of coarse 
manure in the hot weather of suncimer. Spray 
with the infusion recommended for currants 
to prevent injury from worms. If mildew of 

65 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



an apparently fungous nature attacks the 
plants^ spray with Bordeaux mixture. 

This hardly seems the place in which to 
say much about the culture of the apple, 
plum, pear, and cherry, for that is a phase of 
gardening quite distinct from that which 
this little book aims to interest the home- 
maker in. However, the writer would urge 
having all these fruits when conditions are 
favorable to their culture. The more fruit 
we eat the healthier we will be. 

All kinds of small fruit can be planted in 
spring to better advantage than in fall, 
though the nurseryman wdll tell you, if you 
consult him, that it makes little 'difference 
whether you plant in spring or fall. The 
writer has tried both methods, and he has 
always been most successful when plants were 
put out in April and May, provided they were 
sent from the nursery that spring. If they 
are sent in fall they should be ^^heeled-in^^ 
over winter. ^^Heeling-in^^ consists in bury- 
ing the roots in a place where they will be 
kept dry during the winter. It will not be 
necessary to cover all the top, though there 
is no objection to this if the owner thinks it 
safer to do so. Care should be taken to keep 
the plants well protected from storms. This 

66 



SMALL FRUITS AND THEIR CULTURE 



can be done very effectively by spreading 
tarred paper over them, pains being taken 
to weight it down with stones or something 
else equally heavy to prevent its being blown 
out of place. 

Plants that have been ^^heeled-in^^ over 
winter should be set out as soon as possible 
in spring. 



IX 



HOTBEDS AND COLD-FRAMES 

IN order to have vegetables early in the 
season it will be necessary to give them 
a start some weeks before the ground is in 
proper condition for the reception of seed. 
Sometimes this is done by sowing the seed in 
pots and boxes in the living-room, as ad- 
vised in Chapter VI^ but here conditions are 
not very favorable to healthy growth, un- 
less great care is taken to follow the direc- 
tions given in the chapter mentioned, and 
even then success does not always attend 
our efforts. 

In order to give our plants the early start 
that thej^ must have if we want vegetables 
at a time when most gardeners are getting 
the garden ready for planting, we must 
make use of the hotbed. If this is done we 
can gain from six weeks to two months in 
time, and have lettuce and radishes before 
our neighbors who are without hotbed facili- 

68 



HOTBEDS AND COLD-FRAMES 



ties consider it safe to put seed into the 
ground. 

At the North the first of March is quite 
early enough to get the hotbed under way. 

I am aware that many young gardeners 
have the impression that a hotbed is, in some 
respects, a mysterious thing, and because of 
this thej^ do not undertake to make one. Now 
there is nothing simpler than a hotbed when 
you come to a study of it. It is simply mak- 
ing a place in which summer conditions can 
be imitated by supplying it with stead}", 
gentle heat, and in confining this heat within 
an inclosure. The heat is generated by the 
use of material which ferments, and the in- 
closure is nothing but a combination of boards 
and glass so arranged that the temperature 
inside it can be regulated to suit the require- 
ments of the plants you undertake to grow 
in it. 

The heat-generating material is generally 
fresh manure from the horse-stable, or a 
mixture of that and coarse litter. 

Because the heat from rapid fermentation 
is quite intense, at first the material from 
which it is obtained should be prepared be- 
fore the hotbed is brought into use. A quan- 
tity of it should be spread on the site selected 

for the hotbed — which should be one that is 

69 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDEXIXG 



high and dry — covering a space larger than 
the hotbed frame is to be. Spread it in layers 
four or five inches deep, tramping each layer 
down well. ^Mien there is a foot and a half 
of it. cover it with something that will shed 
rain, and wait for fermentation to take place. 
A warm moisture will rise from it like steam. 
After two or three days fork the material 
over, and remove all straw, and make an- 
other heap similar to the first one. taking 
great pains to have it firm and compact. It 
is very important that it should have con- 
siderable solidity, as a heap of loose litter 
will never give satisfactory results. There 
should be at least a foot and a half of this 
heat-generating material. 

^\Tiile waiting for fermentation to take 
place in the manure-pile, prepare the frame 
for your hotbed. 

Let it be about a foot and a half in depth 
at the back, and eight or ten inches deep in 
front, with sides that slope from the wider 
boards to the narrower ones. Cover it with 
glass set in sash. If possible have the sash 
hinged to the back-board, so that it can be 
lifted for ventilation without removing it. 

The best location for a hotbed is one facing 

the south, that all possible advantage can^ 

be taken of sunshine, and against a building 

70 



HOTBEDS AND COLD-FRAMES 



or fence that will protect it on the north 
from cold winds. Some persons prefer to 
make an excavation a foot or more in depth 
for the reception of the heating material, 
but this is not a matter of much importance. 
As a general thing it will not be possible to 
do this in a satisfactory manner while there is 
frost in the ground, as there will be at the 
North until after the first of March. 

When the first stages of fermentation are 
over, set the hotbed frame in place, and fill 
in with five or six inches of very fine, rich 
soil. This is what your seed is to be planted 
in. 

The young gardener will be surprised at 
the amount of heat contained in an inclosure 
like the one described. It will be very simi- 
lar to the weather conditions of early or 
middle May out of doors. In it plants will 
grow healthily and vigorously, provided they 
are given plenty of fresh air. This is a mat- 
ter of the greatest importance. Unless your 
seedlings are aired daily, if the weather is 
pleasant, they will miake a rapid but weak 
growth, and when the time comes to put them 
in the cold-frame or the open ground — pro- 
vided they are alive then — they will be so 
lacking in vitality that the change will be 
pretty sure to put an end to them. On every 
6 71 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDEXIXG 



sunny or warm day tiie sash should be hfted 
an mch or tvv^o^ about ten o'clock, and left 
m that condition until about two. Care must 
be taken, however, to see that the wind does 
not blow from a quarter that will drive the 
cold air in upon the plants. The admission 
of a cold blast will often be fatal to the ten- 
der plants. 

Great caution must be exercised in regard 
to ventilation. The aim should be, at all 
times, to admit pure, fresh air without al- 
lowing cold to enter with it. This may seem 
a somewhat paradoxical statement, for at 
fu'st thought it will seem impossible for air 
from without to come in without taking along 
with it the cold air which is in circulation 
outside, but when one takes into consideration 
the fact that the warm air inside the hotbed 
meets the air from out of doors at the point 
of entrance it will be understood that it 
repels or counteracts it to an extent that 
makes it safe to open the sash slightly when 
the outside temperature is nearly down to 
freezing-point. The hotbed-owner must study 
existing conditions and be governed accord- 
ingly. It is impossible to lay down am^ 
hard-and-fast rules to apply in this case. 

On cold nights the hotbed sash should be 
covered with blankets or old carpeting to 



HOTBEDS AND COLD-FRAMES 



prevent the formation of frost on the glass. 
If you find, in the morning, that the glass is 
covered with moisture on its under side, 
raise the sash a trifle and leave it so until the 
moisture clears away. 

If at any time you have reason to think 
that the warmth inside the frame is decreas- 
ing too rapidly, bank up about it with fresh 
fermenting material. 

After constructing the hotbed and put- 
ting the frame and sash in place, test the 
heat inside by an accurate thermometer 
before venturing to sow any seed. When 
it registers 85^ or 90"^ the bed is ready for 
seeding. 

In making the frame for a hotbed care 
should be taken to see that all joints fit snug- 
ly. A great deal of cold can be admitted 
through a very small crevice. A few cracks 
will let out the heat faster than it is generated, 
therefore see to it that in constructing the 
frame a good piece of work is done. 

Some persons tell me that they always 
bank up a hotbed with earth. This enables 
it to retain the heat better than it is possible 
for it to do without banking. 

A hotbed will be of no particular benefit 

unless supplemented by a cold-frame. This 

is simply a snug inclosure of boards covered 

73 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



with glass, into which plants from the hot- 
bed are to be set for the purpose of hardening 
them off before they are put into the open 
ground. In other words, it is a hotbed with- 
out heat. The temperature in it ought to 
register from 60"^ to 65°. Raise the sash an 
inch or two on sunny days before the rays 
of the sun striking on the glass raise the 
temperature inside to a degree too intense 
for the good of your plants. 

It will be readily understood from what I 
have said above that in order to attain suc- 
cess in the management of a hotbed great 
care will have to be exercised at all times 
and frequent attention given. It is not a self- 
regulating thing by any means. You will 
have to consider the weather, the time of day 
when ventilation should be given, frequency 
of watering, and other matters which cannot 
be touched on here because of a more or less 
local character. 

Plants in the hotbed should be watered 

cautiously. An oversupply will often cause 

the seedlings to ^^damp off,'^ and n lack of 

sufficient moisture at the roots will speedily 

result in injury, if not death. TVTienever 

water is applied, use a sprinkler that throws 

a fine spray. If thrown on the soil in a stream 

the water will often wash the smaller plants 

74 



HOTBEDS AND COLD-FRAMES 



out of place. It may puzzle one to tell when 
just enough has been given. This is best de- 
termined by an examination of the soil. If 
moderately moist there is plenty of moisture 
below. 



X 



SMALL GARDENS 

MANY persons who would like to grow 
flowers and vegetables do not attempt 
to grow any because they do not consider 
that they have a place large enough to justify 
them in doing so. 

Here is where they make a mistake. A 
garden need not be a large one to be enjoy- 
able. A few plants are better than none. 
It is possible to make a bit of garden more 
satisfactory than a large one because it will 
be more likely to get more attention than 
would be given to the larger one, and at- 
tention is one of the important features of 
any successful garden. 

There will, in the majority of cases, be 
little nooks and corners here and there about 
the home grounds in which some plants can 
be grown by those disposed to make the most 
of existing conditions. These, if not im- 
proved, will be pretty sure to be given over 

76 



S:\IALL GARDENS 



to weeds, or to the accumulation of rubbish 
of one kind or another, and they will detract 
from the tidy and clean appearance which 
should characterize the home everwhere. 
If the ovrners of these bits of ground — these 
possibilities for adding to the attractiveness 
of home — could be made to realize the amount 
of pleasure they could be made to afford with 
very little exertion on their part, the general 
work of civic improvement societies would 
be most beneficial, and this would be done 
at the very place where civic improvement 
ought to start — the home. There can be 
no real and lasting improvement in civic 
undertaking unless the individual home takes 
up the matter. The civic improvement 
society that starts out with the idea of im- 
proving things generalh^, but does not begin 
the good work at the home is working on the 
idea of making clean the outside of the cup 
and ignoring the condition inside it. Just 
as the home is the foundation of society, so 
must it be made the pivotal point at which 
any substantial and lasting improvement 
finds its beginning. 

Because the scattered places about the 
small home in which few plants could be 
grown will not admit of bed-making, or the 

designs'' which many persons seem to think 
77 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDEXIXG 



indispensable in gardening^ is no good reason 
why Vv^e should not take advantage of and 
make the most of them. If one lives in a 
community where there are German families 
he vdll be surprised at the amount of vege- 
tables the^^ grow in each home-lot. Not an 
inch of soil is allowed to go to waste. A 
large amount of the food of the family is 
grown in places which m.ost Americans would 
overlook^ simply because of the prevailing 
idea that unless one can do things on a 
large scale it is not worth while to attempt 
doing anything. The German has been 
brought up to not despise the day of small 
things/'^ and he profits by the advice. As 
we mighty if we would^ and^ I am glad to say, 
as more and more are profiting by year by 
3^ear as they become aware of the fact that 
much can be done where conditions are lim- 
ited. 

I would not advise much mixing of vari- 
eties. On the contrary;, I would prefer to 
give over each little piece of ground to one 
plant. Those of low habit I would have 
near the path, giving the places back of 
them to taller-growing kinds. Of course, 
in the majoritj^ of small homes, there is not 
much chance for exercising a choice in the 
location of one's flowering or vegetable 

78 



SMALL GARDENS 



plants; still, it is well to study the possibili- 
ties for general effect, and do all that can be 
done to secure pleasing results. Where 
plants that grow to a height of three feet 
are grown, the best place for them^is at the 
rear, or along the boundary of the lot, where 
they will serve as a background for plants 
of low^er habit. 

Children should be encouraged to take 
an interest in the cultivation of small gardens. 
They will do this if the parents are willing 
to help them a little at the start. Show them 
how to spade up the soil in spring, and how 
to work it over and over until it is fine and 
mellow. They will make play of this part of 
garden work, as it is as natural for a child to 
dig in the dirt as it is for a pig to wallow in 
a mud-puddle. Add some kind of fertilizer 
to the soil, and explain to the boys and girls 
that it is food for the plants that are to be. 
Show them how to sow seed, and tell them 
all you can about the processes of germina- 
tion, and encourage them to watch for the 
appearance of the seedlings. In a short time 
you will have aroused in them such interest 
in the work they have undertaken that it 
will be as fascinating to them as a story, 
and nature will take delight in writing it 
out for them in daily instalments that con- 

79 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



stantly increase in interest. The ability to 
know plants and how to grow them ought 
to be a part of every child's education. 

Don't let a bit of ground go to waste. 
Have flowers and vegetables, even if there 
isn't room for more than half a dozen plants 
— or only one plant for that matter, for that 
one solitary plant will be a great deal better 
than none at all. 



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HERE are more ways than one to secure 



A fertilizers and fine soil for the small gar- 
den. If sward is cut from the roadside, 
chopped into small pieces, and stored away 
in some corner of the yard that is convenient 
to get at, and the soapsuds from wash-day are 
poured over it each week, it will, in a short 
time, if stirred frequently, become a most 
excellent substitute for leaf-mold. The grass- 
roots, when decayed, will become a vegetable 
fertilizer which will be found extremely valu- 
able in the culture of such plants as require 
a light, rich soil, especially when small. 

Some quite artistic effects can be secured 
in the vegetable-garden by the exercise of a 
little thought. The large-leaved beet has 
foliage of a dark, rich crimson quite as orna- 
mental as that of many plants used by gar- 
deners to produce the ^'tropical effects'' 




81 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



which many persons admire. When planted in 
the background, with fine-fohaged plants like 
carrot or parsley in front of it, the effect will 
be extremely pleasing because of the contrast 
of color, and also of habit. The red pepper, 
planted where it can show its brilliantly 
colored fruit against the green of some plant, 
will give a bit of brightness that will not 
fail to be appreciated by those who have a 
keen eye for color-harmony. It is well to 
plan for these touches of the artistic, even 
in the vegetable garden. 

Tomatoes are often grown on racks and 
trellises. Where this is done there will be 
no danger of the fruit's decaying, as is often 
the case when the plants are given no sup- 
port and their branches come in contact 
with the ground. 

It is a good idea to scatter clean, dry 
straw under the plants after they begin to 
set fruit. 

It is also a good plan to pinch off the ends 

of some of the tomato- vines after the first 

liberal setting of fruit. This throws the 

strength of the plant into the development 

of the fruit that has set, instead of into the 

production of new branches which are not 

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needed. It also hastens the maturity of it. 
If the tomato is allowed to do so it will keep 
on growing and blooming and setting fruit 
throughout the entire season, and as a nat- 
ural consequence much of it will be immature 
when frost comes. It is well to prevent this 
wasting of the plant's forces by shortening the 
main branches of it in August and September. 

In the chapter devoted to the mention of 
the best varieties of vegetables to plant, I 
neglected to say a good word for sage and 
summer savory, both of which the housewife 
will find very useful in seasoning soups, 
sausage, and other articles of food. If cut 
when in their prime and hung in the shade to 
dry, all their flavor will be retained. When 
perfectly dry, rub the leaves from the stalks, 
pulverize them well, and store in paper bags 
to prevent the loss of their flavor. 

Dill and caraway seed are often used in 
cookery, and, as variety is the spice of 
life,'' it may be well for the housewife to 
grow a few plants of each. The writer has 
a very vivid recollection of grandmother's 
caraway cookies, and many of the present 
generation declare a liking for pickles fla- 
vored with dill. 

83 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDEXIXG 



To add to the attractive appearance of the 
table in winter I would advise growing a few 
plants of the red or purple cabbage to work 
up in slaws and salads. Beets are capable of 
giving a bit of color to the table that will be 
as pleasing to the eye as the taste of this 
vegetable is delightful to the palate. A root 
of parsley^ potted in fall, will not only afford 
much material for the garnishing of the vari- 
ous dishes to which the housewife likes to 
add a touch of this kind, but it can be made 
the basis of a really beautiful table decora- 
tion. A few bright flowers thrust in among 
its crinklj" foliage will be quite as effective as 
many more pretentious decorative schemes. 

The amateur gardener may begin work 
with the belief that one crop in a season is 
all he can expect from his garden. He will 
soon discover his mistake. The early radishes 
and the first crop of lettuce will mature be- 
fore midsummer, and the ground they oc- 
cupied can be planted to later varieties from 
which a fully developed second crop can be 
expected. Or other vegetables, like beets 
and onions, can be planted where they grew, 
to furnish material for the pickling season. 
After the early potatoes have been dug the 

ground thev occupied should not be allowed 

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to lie idle. Something can be planted there 
for fall use. To make the garden the greatest 
possible som^e of profit, not a foot of it should 
be suffered to go to waste at any time during 
the growing season. 

Radishes would be well worth growing for 
their beauty alone. A plate of them, nested 
in thek own green foliage gives the break- 
fast-table a touch of bright color that adds 
the charm of beautj^ to the food with which 
it is associated. The writer believes in mak- 
ing the table as attractive in appearance as 
the food on it is toothsome whenever it is 
possible to do so. 

I notice that I have overlooked the pump- 
kin. The oversight was unintentional, and 
I beg the pardon of the vegetable without 
which the housewife would be ^^lost^' along 
about Thanksgiving-time. 

The pumpkin is out of place in the small 
garden because of its rampant growth, but 
a few plants of the New England Pie variety 
should be growm wherever there is room for 
it, to supply material for the delicious pump- 
kin pies most of us enjoy so much in winter. 
Well-ripened specimens keep well when stored 
in cool, dry cellars, if placed on racks or 

85 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDEXIXG 



shelves that will prevent them from coming 
in contact with the cold^ damp cellar-bottom. 

If frost nips the tomato-vines before all 
their fruit is fully ripened, pull them up and 
hang them against a wall where the sun can 
get at them. Hang blankets over them if 
the nights are cold. Here they will ripen 
as perfectly as on the vines in the garden, 
and one can enjoy fresh fruit from them until 
the coming of very cold weather. 

Before cold weather sets in go over the 
garden, be it large or small, and gather up 
ever}' bit of rubbish that can be found. 
Pull up the dead plants and bmii them. 
Store racks and trellises under cover for use 
another season. If these are properly taken 
care of they will last for several years, but 
if left exposed to the storms of winter they 
will be short-lived. 

Dig a quantity of parsnips and salsify to 
be stored in the cellar for winter use. Co\"'er 
the strawberry-bed with leaves or straw, 
spreading lightly. Coarse litter from the 
barn-yard is often used for this purpose, but 
it is objectionable because of its containing 
so many weed-seeds. 

86 



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Many experienced gardeners advocate 
plowing or spading the garden in fall. This, 
they claim, helps to kill the larvse which in- 
sects have deposited in the soil, and it puts 
the ground in good working condition earlier 
in spring. But it will have to be gone over 
in spring to incorporate with it whatever fer- 
tilizer is made use of. 

Fresh barn-yard manure should never be 
used. It ought to lie for at least a season 
before applying it to the vegetable-garden. 
Give it a chance to ferment and kill many of 
the seeds that are in it. 

If the soil of the garden contains consid- 
erable clay, and is rather stiff in consequence, 
the application of coarse sand, old mortar, and 
coal-ashes will lighten and greatly improve it. 

Do not allow grass or weeds to grow on any 
of the unused soil in or about the garden, 
for insects will congregate there and make it 
the base from which to make their raids 
upon the plants you set out to grow. 

We are often advised to apply a dressing 
of salt to the asparagus-bed. I have never 
been able to see that the plants received any 

7 87 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



direct benefit from it, but if it is scattered 
quite thickly over the ground it vriW prevent 
weeds from growing, thus benefiting the 
plants indirectly. 

Asparagus is often attacked by a sporadic 
growth which causes the fohage to look 
rusty, hence the term, asparagus-rust. As 
soon as it is discovered, cut the tops and 
burn them. If allowed to remain the plants 
will likely be attacked next season, as the 
spores are not killed by cold. 

If the bugs and beetles that attack young 
plants of cucumber, squash, and melon do 
not yield promptly to the apph cation of 
dry road-dust, fine coal-ashes, or land-plas- 
ter, it may be well to cover frames with fine 
wire netting, such as door- and \\indow- 
screens are made from, and put over the 
plants. Care should be taken to see that 
these frames fit the ground snuglj^ or have 
earth banked up about them, to prevent the 
enemy from crawling under. After the plants 
have made their third or fourth leaves the 
beetle will not be likely to injure them. 

I am often asked why writers on gardening 
matters never advise the use of home-grown 

88 



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seed. One answer to this query is this: 
In the ordinary garden plants stand close to 
one another, and the varieties we grow are 
almost sure to niix, by one variety being 
pollenized by another. The seed from these 
plants will seldom produce plants like either 
parent variety. Sometimes they msLj be 
equal to them in most respects, but we can- 
not depend on their being so. Therefore, if 
we desh'e to grow superior varieties that are 
of pure blood, it becomes necessary^ for us to 
procure fresh seed each season from dealers 
who take pains to see that there shall be no 
mixing'' among their plants. 

Every season some enterprising seedsman 
comes out with an announcement that he 
has developed or discovered a remarkable 
new variety of some standard vegetable so 
far superior to any other variety on the mar- 
ket that, as soon as its merits become fully 
kno\\TL, it will drive all competitors out of 
the field. Of course this new candidate for 
favor is offered at a fancy price, ^'because 
the supply is limited, and the demand for it 
is increasing to such an extent that the en- 
tire stock will soon be sold out. Order at 
once, to avoid disappointment.'' Don't be 

in a hurrv to take this advice. Wait until 

89 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



next season. The chances are that you will 
hear nothing more about it. We have so 
many very excellent varieties now that there 
is no reason why we should ask for anything 
better. If the novelty'^ is the possessor of 
real merit you will be sure to hear about it 
later, but it is hardly likely to prove an im- 
provement on what we already have, for it 
is hard to imagine anything superior to the 
standard varieties of vegetables that we 
have at present. 

I would not advise purchasing seed at the 
general store. Some of this may be reliable, 
but so much of it is inferior that one cannot 
afford to run the risk of experimenting with 
it. It is the part of wisdom to purchase 
where you can feel sure of getting just the 
variety you want. 

We are likely to have a few frosty nights 
along about the middle of September. Ten- 
der vegetables may be injured if not pro- 
tected. But if covered with blankets or 
papers the danger may be tided over, and 
during the long period of pleasant weather 
that generally follows these early frosts we can 
get as much pleasure out of the garden as it af- 
forded during the early fall. It pays to protect. 

90 



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The housewife will take a great deal of de- 
light in the preparation of piccalilli, chow- 
chow, and the various other condiments 
w^hich have such a stimulating effect on the 
appetite in early spring, when ^Hhat tired 
feeling'' is likely to make a good deal of the 
food that is placed before us unattractive. 
In the making of these good things unripe 
tomatoes and peppers will play an important 
part. So will onions that are too small to 
store away for winter use. She will find use 
for all of these things which a man would con- 
sider worthless. Really, there is but little 
chance for waste of garden productions if 
there is an appreciative and prudent woman 
in the kitchen. 

A few roots of horseradish should find a 
place in all gardens, preferably in some out- 
of-the-way corner where it can be allowed 
to spread without interfering with other 
plants. Spread it will, every little piece of 
root that is broken off in the ground in dig- 
ging the large roots becoming an independ- 
ent plant as soon as thrown upon its own re- 
sources. Because of this tendency to ^Hake 
possession of the land" many persons who 
have undertaken its culture refuse to give it 
a place in their gardens. But it is really an 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



easy matter to keep it within the Hmits as- 
signed it by promptly uprooting any plant 
that may make its appearance outside the 
space given over to it. Those who are fond 
of something pungent and peppery to eat 
with meats, either hot or cold, will not con- 
sent to be without it. It is at its best as soon 
as the frost is out of the ground sufficiently 
to admit of its being dug. It should be used 
as soon as possible after digging, as it loses 
much of its piquant quality if left exposed 
to the air for a short time. Roots can be 
dug in late fall for winter use, and packed in 
boxes of soil, which should be stored in the 
cellar or some other place where they can be 
kept as cool as possible without actually 
freezing. But in order to have it in perfec- 
tion roots freshly dug in spring must be de- 
pended on. 

Leaves of horseradish make excellent greens 
if used when green and tender. A few of 
them cooked with young beets will give the 
latter a flavor that will make their sweetness 
all the more appreciable. 

Speaking of greens reminds me to say that 
the dandelion can be cultivated to advantage 
in the home garden. Under cultivation it 

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improves in size, and becomes a plant quite 
unlike the tiny, hundred-leaved specimens 
we dig from the roadside in spring, of which 
a bushel will be required in order to secure a 
good ^^mess'' for a greens-loving family, as 
most of such a picking will have to be dis- 
carded when it is ^ looked over'' preparatory 
to cooking. In order to prevent the garden- 
grown dandelion from becoming a nuisance it 
must not be allowed to bloom and develop seed. 

A most delightful salad can be made from 

the new growth of the dandelion, in spring, 

if properly bleached. This can be done by 

covering the plants with dry leaves as soon 

as they begin to grow, thus excluding light 

and inducing rapid development. Or, if most 

convenient, flower-pots can be inverted over 

the plants. The small amount of light that 

comes to them through the drainage-hole in 

the bottom of the pot will materially assist 

in hastening the growth of the leaves in such 

a manner as to give them a crisp tenderness 

and deprive them of that bitter tang which 

characterizes the foliage when fully grown 

under exposure to the light and air. Just 

enough of this spicy quality to make the 

salad delightfully appetizing will be found in 

them when grown in this way. 

93 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



Mention has several times been made in 
the preceding pages of Bordeaux mixture. 
This is a preparation used by small-fruit 
growers everywhere to combat diseases of a 
fungous character which prevail to an alarm- 
ing extent in almost all sections of the coun- 
try in early spring. It is a standard remedy 
for many of the ills that this class of plants 
is heir to, and no up-to-date orchardist would 
think for a moment of neglecting its use if 
he would grow a fine crop of apples. It has 
not heretofore come into common use among 
those who grow small fruit on a small scale, 
because it is rather difficult to prepare it 
properly, but now a preparation of it that is 
ready for use by simply mixing it with water 
can be obtained from all seedsmen. The use 
of it in spring when fruit is setting, to pre- 
vent injury from the curculio and other ene- 
mies of small fruits, is to be encouraged. 

Every gardener should be provided with 
pruning-shears with which to prune whatever 
plants he or she may grow that require fre- 
quent attention of that kind. A jack-knife 
answers the purpose very well in the hands 
of a man, but up to the present time no 
woman is known to have made a success of 
its use. 

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Currant-bushes grow readily from cuttings. 
Insert a piece of half-ripened wood five or 
six inches long into the ground and it will 
almost invariably take root. In order to 
keep this plant in healthy bearing condition 
it should T3e pruned rather severely each 
season. Cut away all weak wood, and en- 
courage the production of strong new shoots, 
from which fruit will be borne next season. 
Remove a good share of the old branches 
after they have ripened the present season's 
crop. If this is not done the bush will after 
a little become crowded with branches, and 
as all branches, old and new, will attempt to 
bear, you will be pretty sure to have a pro- 
duction of very inferior fruit, since it will be 
impossible for the bush to perfect all the 
berries that set and have them come up to 
the standard of superiority that should gov- 
ern the grower. Small currants are good, as 
far as they go, but the trouble is — they don't 
go far enough. Many of them will have to 
be discarded when the housewife makes her 
selection. 

If the amateur gardener desires to give 
some of his vegetables an early start, I would 
advise him to try what may be called the 
^'sod-method'' in preference to any other, 

95 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDEXING 



Sod is cut from roadside or pasture in fall 
and stacked up in the cellar for use in early 
spring. WTien seed is to be sown^ invert the 
piece of sod, and scatter the seed over the 
surface, which, it will be understood, was 
not the surface originally. In other words, 
what icas the sm^face is nov\' the bottom of 
the piece which receives the seed. ^Alien it 
comes time to put the seedlings out of doors 
the sod can be cut apart in such a manner 
that each has its bit of soil, and this can be 
transferred to the garden without interfering 
in any way with the roots of the young plant. 

WHiile barnyard manure — especially that 
which contains a good deal of cow manure 
— is one of the very best of all fertilizers, it 
is not always obtainable, and this makes it 
necessary to resort to some kind of conmier- 
cial fertilizer. If one is not familiar with 
any of these fertilizers he ought not to select 
at random, as he may get a kind not at all 
adapted to his requirements. I would ad- 
vise finding some one who understands the 
peculiarity of the soil in his locahty, and 
who has had some experience in the use of 
commercial fertilizers, and being governed 
by his advice. Experimental knowledge is 

often expensive, and the use of a fertilizer 

96 



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that is not adapted to the soil in one's garden 
often ruins a season's crops. 

The ideal support for pea-vines is brush, 
but not everj^ gardener is able to obtain 
it. Some persons substitute binder-twine 
stretched from stake to stake. This answers 
very w^ell as long as the weather remains 
dry, but as soon as a rain-storm comes along 
the twine absorbs so much moisture that it 
relaxes its tension and sags in such a man- 
ner as to endanger the vines which have 
taken hold of it. Coarse-meshed wire netting 
will be found much more satisfactory, as it 
will not sag and cannot be blown down by 
winds. Care must be taken to see that it is 
coarse-meshed, as the fine-meshed sorts will 
not admit of the vine's working its way out 
and in among the meshes. If a supply of 
brush can be obtained, use it by all means, 
and at the end of the pea-season pull it up 
and store it away in a dry place. If this is 
done, it can be made to do duty for several 
seasons. If netting is used, do not allow it 
to remain out of doors in winter. By un- 
tacking it from the stakes which are set for 
its support, and rolling it up carefully, and 
storing it away from the storms of winter, 

it can be made to last a lifetime. 

97 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



Don't depend upon home-grown seed. 
Some of it may be just as good as that 
which can be bought from rehable seeds- 
men, but the probabihties are that it is 
not, because of the tendencies of most 
plants to ''mix.^^ Plants grown from seed 
saved from the home garden often — and gen- 
erally — show some of the characteristics of 
several varieties of the same family, and 
frequently these characteristics are not the 
ones we would like to perpetuate. Seedlings 
from varieties poUenized by other varieties 
show a decided inclination to revert to orig- 
inal types, and these are in most instances 
the very characteristics we would like to get 
away from. It is always advisable to pro- 
cure fresh seed each season, and to procure it 
from men who make seed-growing a specialty. 

The housewife who likes to make her table 
and the food she places upon it as attractive 
as possible, will do well to pot a few plants 
of parsley in early fall. Choose for this 
purpose the smaller plants. Three or four 
can be put into one pot if the latter is of good 
size. These can be kept in the kitchen 
window, where they will be quite as orna- 
mental as most house plants, or they can be 

kept in the cellar window if frost is prevented 

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from getting to them. From them one can 
always obtain material for the decoration of 
roasts and other dishes which require gar- 
nishment. 

Squashes and pumpkins will not keep well 
if stored in very warm places. A room that 
is just a little above the frost-point is the 
best place for them. It will be found far 
superior to a cellar, as the latter is generally 
more or less damp, and dampness is one of the 
worst enemies of these vegetables. A cool, 
dry atmosphere is what they need, and if it 
can be given them they can be kept in fine 
condition throughout the entire winter. Care 
should be taken, in gathering them, to not 
break their stems. If this is done they fre- 
quently decay at the place where stem and 
vegetable unite, and this condition spreads 
rapidly to all portions of them. 

The question is frequently asked: 
Would you advise plowing or spading the 
garden in fall? If it could have but one sea- 
son's attention, I would advise giving it in 
spring. But if the owner of a garden has am- 
ple time to devote to it, I would advise plow- 
ing or spading in both seasons. Turning up 
the soil in fall exposes to the elements that 

99 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



portion of it which is most Ukely to contain 
worms and insects which have burrowed 
away for the winter, and it is desirable to 
make way with as many of these as possible. 
Stirring the soil in spring will do them very 
little harm, as the weather will be in their 
favor. Fall stirring of the soil is also con- 
ducive to a greater degree of mellowness than 
is likely to result from one operation, and that 
in spring, as the clods of earth that are thrown 
up disintegrate under the influence of frost 
and will be in a condition to pulverize easily 
when spring comes. 

The average gardener doesn't seem to as- 
sociate the growing of vegetables with an 
idea of beauty, but he will find, if he looks 
into the matter, that the vegetable-garden 
can be made really ornamental. A row of 
carrots with its feathery green foliage is 
quite as attractive as many of our decora- 
tive plants; and beets, with crimson foliage, 
are really tropical in their rich coloring. 
Parsley and lettuce make excellent and or- 
namental edgings for beds containing other 
vegetables. Tomatoes, trained to upright 
trellises, are quite as sho^vy as many kinds 
of flowers, when their fruit begins to ripen. 
Peppers work in charmingly with the color- 

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scheme of the vegetable-garden. A httle 
study of garden possibihties will soon con- 
vince one that it is an easy matter to make 
the vegetable-garden as attractive, so far as 
color is concerned, as the flower-garden is. 
And while we are at work at gardening, why 
not make it as attractive as possible? The 
pleasing appearance of it will lend addi- 
tional qualities to the fine flavor of its 
vegetables if we believe that beauty and 
practicality ought to work in harmony wdth 
each other. 

Sage, summer savory, and other garden- 
grown plants used for seasoning or medicinal 
purposes should be gathered when in their 
prime. If one waits until late in the season 
before cutting them, much of their virtue will 
have been expended in the ripening process 
w^hich all plants undergo after they complete 
their growth. Cut them close to the ground, 
and tie them in loose bunches, and hang them 
in a shady place until their moisture has 
evaporated. Then put them in paper bags 
and hang away in a store-room or closet for 
the winter. Plants treated in this way will 
retain nearly all their original flavor, and be 
found far superior to the kinds you buy at 
the store. 

101 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDEXIXG 



Cucumbers that have grown to full size 
should be gathered if not wanted for use, as 
to allow them to remain on the vines after 
reaching maturity, and while ripening, mate- 
rially affects the productiveness of the plants. 

Endive is the basis of one of om^ best and 
most wholesome fall and winter salads. When 
nearly full-grown it must be bleached, like 
celery. Gather the leaves together and tie 
them in such a manner as to exclude the 
light. Do this when they are perfectly dry. 
If wet or damp they are likely to rot. 

Some gardeners use what is called onion 
sets'' instead of seed. These ''sets'' are 
the result of sovring seed very thickly in 
spring the season before they are wanted 
for planting. As soon as their tops die off 
in summer — as they will if seed was sown 
thickly enough — store in a dry and airy 
place, and the following spring replant. By 
this method large onions are obtained very 
early in the season. Most market-gardeners 
depend on sets'' instead of seed. 

Mention has been made of a few of our 
pot and medicinal plants. Here is a larger 
list for those who are interested in plants 

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of this kind: balm, sweet basil, caraway, 
catnip, camomile, coriander, dill, penny- 
royal, peppermint, saffron, tansy, and 
wormwood. Our grandmothers had un- 
limited faith in the medicinal qualities of 
some of these plants, and many a mother will 
be glad to know that she has a stock of some 
of them stored away for winter use when colds 
and coughs are prevalent among children or 
grown people. Some of the old home reme- 
dies are far preferable to those we are ac- 
customed to using, as they are harmless, if 
they do no good, which is something that 
cannot be said of most drugs that are taken 
into the system. 

Don't wait for the currant-worm to show 
itself on your bushes. You can safely count 
on its coming. Act on the defensive in ad- 
vance by sprajdng your plants thoroughly 
with an infusion of Nicoticide, keeping in 
mind the fact that it is easier to prevent an 
insect from establishing itself on your plants 
than it is to get rid of it when it has secured 
a foothold there. In spraying, be sure that 
the infusion gets to all parts of the bush. 
Throw it up w^ell among the branches. Simply 
spraying it over the plant isn't what is 

needed. It must reach the under side of the 
8 103 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 

foliage, and all parts where insects and other 
enemies might hide away and escape con- 
tact with the infusion used. 

When the small-fruit plants in your garden 
show evidence of having outlived their use- 
fulness, don't try to renew them, but dig 
them up and plant new ones. You cannot 
make a satisfactory plant out of one that 
has begun to show age. It is a good plan to 
set a few new plants each season. If this is 
done there need be no gap in the fruit-supply, 
as there will always be some coming on to 
take the places of those whose days of use- 
fulness are over. Too often we neglect our 
gardens until they are in such a debilitated 
condition that we get but slight returns 
from them, and then we set to work to 
make them all over, and in this way we 
fail to get as much out of them as we ought 
to. By planting something each season we 
keep them up to bearing-point, and have no 
^^off seasons.'^ 

I wonder how many housewives who may 
read this little book have ever dried sweet- 
corn for winter use. Not many, I think. 
But if they were to do so one season I am 

quite confident that thereafter they would 

104 



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not willingly be without a generous supply 
of it, for it will be found far more delicious 
than the ordinary canned article. In drying 
it, some cook it for a few minutes, and then 
cut it from the cob and spread it out on 
plates to dry. Others do not think it worth 
while to cook it, but cut it from the cob as 
soon as gathered, and dry it by first putting 
it in the oven for a few minutes before ex- 
posing it to the sun to dry. The little time 
in the oven is equivalent to the partial cook- 
ing spoken of. Turn it on the plates on which 
it is spread every day, and do not consider 
it dry enough to store away until it appears 
to have parted with all its moisture. Then 
put it into paper bags or glass jars, and set 
away in a cool, dark place to remain until 
you desire to use it. Soak it for two or three 
hours before putting it on the stove to cook. 
When properly cooked it will be tender and 
have a more delicious flavor than canned 
corn. The generous use of butter and cream 
will make it a dish that is fit to set before a 
king. 

Those who happen to live in places where 
it is not possible to have cellars, because of 
low ground, can have places in which to 
store vegetables for winter use that are really 

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A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



preferable to the ordinary cellar, by con- 
structing what might be called above-ground 
pits, for want of a better name. Build up a 
wall four or five feet high, and bank up about 
it with so much earth that frost cannot pene- 
trate it. Cover with a roof that will keep out 
cold and rain. Have a doorway opening into 
it from an entry built after the fashion of the 
little storm-vestibules we put over the front 
doors of our dwellings in winter. In other 
words, an entry into which we can step and 
close one door behind us before we open the 
one that lets us into the place Vv^here our 
vegetables are. Such a room can be con- 
structed with but little expense. Because of 
its being above ground it will be drier than 
a cellar, and in the majority of cases it will 
be more convenient to get at. It should be 
boarded up with a good quality of matched 
boarding, and its walls should be lined with 
two or three thicknesses of sheathing paper 
put on in such a manner as to show no cracks 
or openings. 

The best place for a vegetable-garden is 
where the soil is naturally well drained and 
where there is a slope to the south. Such a 
slope enables it to get the full benefit of sun- 
shine, and sunshine, it will be found, is an 

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LEFT-OVERS 



important factor in successful gardening. If 
such an exposure is out of the question, aim 
to make conditions as favorable as possible. 
A closely boarded fence on the north side of 
a garden affords excellent protection from 
cold winds early in the season, and helps 
greatly in keeping away frost in fall, when 
many plants are maturing. 

Mention is made in the above paragraph 
of good drainage. This is quite important. 
If the soil of a garden is not well drained, 
many kinds of vegetables cannot be grown 
in it, and few will attain to even a partial 
degree of success. Therefore see to it that 
by ditching, or the use of tile, all surplus 
water is properly disposed of. Much good 
can be done to a heavy soil by adding to it 
sharp, coarse sand, old mortar — anything 
that will have a tendency to counteract the 
heaviness resulting from undue retention of 
water or a naturally too close character of 
soil. If sand is obtainable, and your garden 
is one in which clay predominates, use it in 
generous quantities. You will find it as 
beneficial as manure. Spread it over the 
surface before plowing or spading, and work 
it in thoroughly. A few seasons' application 
will bring about a very marked change for 
the better in any garden whose soil cannot 

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A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



be made fine and mellow without the ad- 
dition of some disintegrating matter. Good 
drainage must be secm^ed in order to grow 
good vegetables, and the use of tile will be 
found a most effective remedy for the evil 
of a soil unduly retentive of moisture. 

In almost all localities there will be families 
who have no garden, but who would make 
liberal use of vegetables if they were easily 
procurable. There is a chance for boys and 
girls to earn an ^^lonest pemw.^^ If it is 
found that there is likelj^ to be more in the 
home garden than the family can make use of, 
canvass the neighborhood for customers for 
the probable surplus. It will be found an 
easy matter to dispose of it. I know several 
amateur child gardeners who secure enough 
in this way to paj^ for all the seed they need. 
Some of them have regular customers each 
season, and gardening begins to look to them 
like a profitable occupation. I don't know 
that thej^ will become professional gardeners, 
but they will be learning something as well 
as earning something while they are fitting 
themselves for whatever occupation in life 
they may decide on, and what they learn in 
the garden will be of benefit in after-life in 
more ways than one. 

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LEFT-OVERS 



Don't neglect to save everything that can ■ 
be made use of for fertihzing purposes. In 
many a home the "suds" of washmg-day 
are disposed of as worthless. If applied to 
growing things in the garden they will often 
prove as beneficial as the application of a 
fertilizer that costs C|uite a little sum of 
money. Especially is this the case if the sea- 
son happens to be a dry one. If there does 
not seem to be a need of more moistm^e in 
the soil on wash-day, save the soapy water 
against a time of need. It will be sure to 
^'come handy" during the season. 

Some families are so unfortunate as to 
have no cellar. Few vegetables can be kept 
well, or for a great length of time, in ordinary" 
rooms, unless something is done to modify 
the conditions usually existing there. If a 
large box is filled with dry sand, potatoes, 
parsnips, salsify, beets, and carrots can be 
buried in it and made to retain their fresh- 
ness for an indefinite period. Of course this 
storage-box should be kept as far as possible 
from artificial heat, and no dampness should 
be allowed to come in contact vdth it, as 
sand absorbs moisture ahnost as readily as 
a sponge, and the satisfactory keeping of the 
vegetables named depends upon dryness more 
than anything else. The lower the tempera- 

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A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



ture of the place in which vegetables are 
stored the better^ provided it never gets be- 
low the freezing-point. ^Miere boxes of sand 
are used^ slight freezings are not likeh^ to 
seriously injure vegetables, as the sand ex- 
tracts the frost so gradually that but little 
harm is done. But hard freezing must be 
guarded against or premature decay will re- 
sult. 

It is an excellent plan to bury some of 
the vegetables named above in a drj^ place 
in the garden, for use in spring. They will 
be found as fresh and crisp as when put into 
the ground, if covered deep enough to pro- 
tect them from frost. 



XII 



HEALTH IN THE GARDEN. A CHAPTER EX- 
PRESSLY FOR WOMEN READERS 

T^HE writer of this book often finds women 



^ who seem ^^all run down/' without being 
able to tell of any positive physical ailment. 
Inquiry generally develops the fact that they 
have overworked; that they have been con- 
fined to the house the greater part of the 
time, busy with household matters, and that 
in caring for others they have neglected to 
care for themselves. Though I am not an 
M.D. I take the liberty of prescribing for 
patients of this class. My prescription is a 
course of treatment in the garden. I insist 
on their getting out of doors, where the air 
is pure, and the sunshine bright and warm, 
and Nature is waiting to give her pleasant 
companionship to whoever signifies a desire 
to make her acquaintance. 
There is health in the garden. But be- 




lli 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



cause one has to. dig for it some persons prefer 
to keep on enjoying their old miserableness 
day after day and year after year. These 
are the incurables — the chronic'^ cases 
that one cannot expect to do much with or 
for. But those who are willing to exert 
themselves in an effort to get back the 
tone that life has lost to a considerable 
extent will find that work in the garden is 
a better tonic than our doctors have a 
record of in their pharmacopoeia. 

The earth fairly tingles with life in spring, 
and by putting ourselves in contact with it 
we absorb some of this vitality. We breathe 
in the wine of a new life, and we thrill with a 
thousand sensations that can come only from 
putting ourselves in close touch with Nature. 
You can tell a woman who needs a change 
from indoors to outdoors that she ought to 
take more exercise, but if you advise walking 
the chances are that she won't walk much. 
That kind of exercise doesn't appeal to her, 
and to make whatever kind of exercise she 
takes effective it must be something that 
affords her pleasure — something that she en- 
joys more than she does doing things from 
a ''sense of duty,^^ or simply because she has 
been told to do it. What is needed is some 
form of exercise that has an object in it — a 

112 



HEALTH IN THE GARDEN 



definite object, rather than the more or less 
abstract one of regaining health.'^ 

Give her a few packages of seeds and arouse 
in her the enthusiasm to have a garden and 
she will get the verj^ best kind of exercise out 
of her attempt to carry out the plan, and the 
definite object'^ — in other words, the garden 
— that she has in mind will keep her so de- 
Hghtfull}^ busy that she will forget all about 
the health-features of the undertaking until 
it dawns upon her with startling suddenness 
some fine day that she ''has got her health 
back/^ How or when it came she cannot tell 
you, All she knows is that she feels like a 
new woman. After that there will be no 
necessity to repeat the prescription, for one 
year's half-way successful work in the gar- 
den fixes "the garden habit'' for all time. 
Nothing else can afford so much pleasure and 
exercise in happ}^ combination as gardening, 
or exert a greater fascination over the per- 
son who allows herself to come under its in- 
fluence. 

I cannot begin to tell you what wonderful 
and delightful things I have learned in the 
garden. It is like having the Book of Nature 
opened before you and being taught its lore 
by the book's own author. You see magical 
things taking place about you every day, and 

113 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



every day there are more of them, to set you 
thinking and wondering. You may work 
until you are tired, but you do not reahze 
physical wear and tear because your mind has 
something else that it considers of greater 
importance to busy itself over. Only after 
the work of the day is done will you become 
conscious of physical weariness, and then it 
is that you find out what the luxury of rest 
is; to fully appreciate rest we must first 
understand what it is to be really tired. 

Lassitude, ennui — these do not give us a 
knowledge of genuine tiredness, therefore we 
are not in a condition to receive the full bene- 
fit of that rest which means a reaction of the 
physical system until we have done some 
kind of work that makes reaction necessary 
in order to establish a normal equilibrium. 
The rest that comes after getting really tired 
is so full of delightful sensations that we ad- 
mit to ourselves that it is richly worth the 
price we have to pay for it. 

There is a subtle charm about garden work 
from its very beginning. The seed we sow has 
a mystery wrapped up in it. The processes 
of germination are as fascinating as a fairy- 
tale. The development of the tiny seedling 
is a source of constant wonder to us. We 
watch for the first bud with eager impatience, 

114 



HEALTH IN THE GARDEN 



and it has to be on the alert if it succeeds in 
opening without our being on hand to ob- 
serve the performance. Spring begins the 
story, summer carries it forward, and autumn 
seems to complete it, but there is always the 
promise of the retelling of the story another 
year to keep us interested from the end of 
one season to the coming of another. Garden 
work is a sort of thousand and one days' en- 
tertainment, in which the interest is continu- 
ally kept up — always something to look for- 
ward to — always something new. 

The woman who grows weary over the 
monotony of household duties, but cannot 
put them entirely aside, will find relaxation 
in the garden. The change will rest her. 
And the woman who has no household duties 
to claim her attention needs something to 
get interested in. Both will find the nec- 
essary stimulus in growing flowers. 

But in order to do this it must not be 
^ Splayed at.'' Set about it because you mean 
to accomplish something. A week after you 
have begun in earnest you will find yourself 
looking forward impatiently to the hour that 
takes you out of doors. You will forget about 
the gloves that you probably provided your- 
self with at the outset. You won't be both- 
ered with veils. Tan will have no terrors for 

115 



A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



3^ou. You will look upon dirt as something 
pleasing because you begin to see the possi- 
bilities in it. You will go back to the house 
with an appetite that makes plain bread and 
butter delicious. 
Have a garden. 

And do all the work in it yourself. 
That's the secret of the benefit you are to 
get out of it. 



THE END 



